Forty Millenniums of Cultivation - Chapter 850

Chapter 850: Transformation of Cultivation

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“When biochemistry developed to the peak point, terrifying existences known as ‘biochemical beasts’ were invented!

“Training genes can be dangerous because the world of hereditary information is as vast as an ocean and utterly unpredictable. There is no telling what kind of changes would happen to somebody when they activate part of their dormant genes. They might grow scales all over their body, and they become as tough as iron, but they also might suddenly turn into a pool of pus and die a miserable death. It is possible that their appearance might not change at all, but their breathing organ might no longer be compatible with the air. As a result, they would suffocate even though the air is plenty.

“Therefore, we all tread lightly during our training and never dare to unlock the gene strands randomly.

“But biochemical beasts are different. They are the artificial creatures made through combining the genes of dozens of stronger demon beasts. They do not have the ability to think or self-awareness, and they can be connected to the user through nerves or brainwaves, which essentially makes them ‘clones’ of the user.

“On the biochemical beasts, the imagination and creativity of the experts of genetics and cytology are no longer restricted. Therefore, such terrifying weapons that are as magnificent as the primeval animals have been invented!

“When a demon is connected to a biochemical beast, their combat ability is multiplied, and if it is a top-tier biochemical beast, their combat ability could even be enhanced by ten times!” Jin Xinyue said delightedly.

Li Yao frowned and, pondering for a moment, said, “When I chased after the prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom and almost killed him, an enormous centipede that was dozens of meters of long crawled out of the earth. It had three bloody horns on its head that were spurting poisonous gas with a sweet smell. Then, the prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom crammed into the head of the centipede, and the two of them seemed to meld into one. Was it a biochemical beast?”

Jin Xinyue shuddered and gasped. “Yes. That was the ‘Red-Horned Centipede’, a biochemical beast personally brewed by Elder Nether Spring. It is one of the strongest biochemical beasts of the Blood Demon Sector. I did not know that Elder Nether Spring was resolute enough to deploy such a precious weapon! What then? Did you kill Yuan Du and the Red-Horned Centipede in the end, senior?”

Li Yao shook his head. “I didn’t. I slashed at the centipede and chopped off one of the red horns on its head. Then, it spurted out a cluster of intense fog and escaped with the coverage of the fog.

“I was more interested in the item that you were all fighting over, so I chose to go after you and ignored the little bug.”

Jin Xinyue secretly clicked her tongue. Yuan Du was a middle-level demon king. With the enhancement of the ‘Red-Horned Centipede’, he could certainly fight a high-level demon king. She did not expect that the guy would only be able to run away desperately under the threat of the old monster, and even the venomous horn of his biochemical beast had been removed.

The old monster was indeed unfathomably strong!

With a brilliant smile on her face, Jin Xinyue clapped her hands and said, “You are indeed invincible with your amazing skills, senior. With a cough of yours, Yuan Du could only be scared out of his wits. If you have access to a few super biochemical beasts and build them into your ‘clones’, which you can manipulate as if they are your body parts, I cannot imagine how strong you will be by then!”

Li Yao chuckled for a moment but suddenly stopped smiling. He said coldly, “There’s no need to flatter me. In fact, all your talk is merely meant to trigger my interest in the modern theories of training so that I will escort you back to the Gold Crow Kingdom safely and even join your father’s side against the Nether Spring Kingdom, right?”

Jin Xinyue smiled even more brilliantly as she replied, “Your eyes are indeed keen, senior. I knew that I could not hide my intention in front of you.”

Li Yao snorted and said, “After listening to what you’ve just said, I’m indeed quite curious about the modern theories of training. It seems that forty thousand years is truly a long time. The world has completely changed!

“It’s not impossible for me to escort you back to the Gold Crow Kingdom. Joining the war between you and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is my wish, too. Although you have not mentioned it yet, I’m very curious what kind of experts are in the world of Cultivators now waiting to be butchered by me and how powerful the so-called crystal suits are. Are they enough to resist one attack?

“However, you must tell me everything that you know honestly. If I discover that you are keeping anything to yourself, hehehehe…”

The intimidating killing intent around him made Jin Xinyue shudder violently again. She hurried to kneel down and swore that she did not dare to.

Li Yao narrowed his eyes and said, “I did not kill the prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom. He must’ve returned already with news about us. I do not think that Elder Nether Spring will let us walk out of the Hundred Desolation Mountain easily.

“He is just a demon emperor. Of course, I’m not scared of him, but with the mutations inside your body, you are quite a nuisance now.”

Thinking for a moment, Li Yao opened his right hand and summoned a fire out of nowhere before he patted the fire into the top of Jin Xinyue’s skull.

A hot stream immediately flooded into Jin Xinyue’s brain.

Jin Xinyue was so scared that she was almost peeing. She thought that the temperamental monster was determined to kill her.

She was about to exclaim and run away when she sensed that she was not harmed at all. Instead, with the hot stream flooding into her body, brand new strength was woken up inside her internal organs.

This—this is the secret technique through which the Cultivators and demons forty thousand years ago assessed the expertise and aptitude of their disciples!

Jin Xinyue quickly realized what was going on.

Forty thousand years ago, the demon race had only just risen and was deeply connected to the Cultivators. On many occasions, the demons were like the Cultivators’ students. They learned everything from their teachers crazily.

Therefore, the greatest experts of the demons at that time, besides their naturally-endowed talents, were all adept at the secret arts of the Cultivators. If they polymorphed into human beings, they would look divine and elegant, absolutely no different from real high-level Cultivators.

Jin Xinyue had an absurd thought when she was tested with the ancient bone-touching technique. She was wondering if it was her who travelled through time instead of the old monster.

But Li Yao was ten times more shocked than Jin Xinyue was.

Odd. Really odd. Why are there such immense spiritual waves inside her body?

Li Yao sensed the tremendous spiritual energy stored inside Jin Xinyue’s body. It filled her internal organs and every vessel and nerve. Part of the spiritual energy was even condensed in her lower abdomen where it was spinning slowly and forming what appeared to be a core!

“I—”

Under Li Yao’s guidance, Jin Xinyue gradually perceived the new strength inside her body, too. She thought of a possibility and was dumbfounded.

Li Yao made the conclusion for her. “It seems that the weird drug only changed the forms of your cells but did not remove your strength from you. Your strength is now demonstrated in a completely different way. That’s all.

“In the past, you were a demon king.

“After the transformation, you have become a Cultivator at the corresponding level—the Core Formation Stage.

“Of course, it is only in terms of the immensity of spiritual energy. You don’t know the first thing about the utilization of spiritual energy and are absolutely no match for a real Core Formation Stage Cultivators. Even Building Foundation Stage Cultivators could defeat you easily. You are like a three-year-old who has unbelievable physical strength, but that does not mean that you can fight a real warrior.”

Jin Xinyue was relieved at first. In the Blood Demon Sector, where the strong preyed on the weak, strength meant everything. It was not the most terrible thing to turn into a human being, but if she lost her strength, she would be a fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of anybody. It would be a better ending for her if she killed herself right now under such circumstances.

Her strength remained, but it had been shifted to a different paradigm. It was the greatest news for her today.

However, there was still one problem. How exactly should she utilize the strength?

Li Yao observed her ever-changing facial expressions casually. It was not until Jin Xinyue came back to herself and looked at her earnestly that he retrieved ten or so high-purity crystals from his Cosmos Ring unhurriedly.

With his left hand behind his back, Li Yao raised a stream of invisible spiritual energy that made the crystals float in midair without support.

With the stimulation of the spiritual energy, the crystals crashed and polished each other. Powder spluttered like a hazy mist. The most solid crystals seemed to have turned into the softest plaster. Their forms changed continuously until they split into delicate components in the end.

Brilliance suddenly shined in Li Yao’s eyes. He closed his hand, and all the components were combined together after cracking noises into a vintage jade chip.

Shua!

Seven-colored fire rose up inside Li Yao’s palm, which seared the jade from top to bottom. In the end, the fire did not die down but dashed into the jade chip like a small dragon, turning into colorful, glamorous stripes on the surface of the jade chip.

After only a few seconds of refining, the jade chip was translucent and as smooth as oil. It also boasted a vigorous air, as if it had been polished by a craftsman for ten days and ten night and worn as a pendant for decades. It looked like an out-and-out ancient treasure!

Jin Xinyue was truly shocked!

If she had not seen it with her own eyes, she certainly would have mistaken the jade chip for an ancient treasure that had just been excavated from some ruins. She never would have believed that it had been refined just now with only one hand!

This is definitely the most standard, professional method of ancient refining. It is not something that modern demons or human beings can grasp!

Besides, he was only using one hand, and he has crafted an ancient jade chip after only several minutes!

So horrifying! So skillful! So unbelievable!

Jin Xinyue was so shocked that she was soaked in cold sweat again.

She was aware that professions were ambiguous in the ancient times forty thousand years ago. At that time, the Cultivators and the demons were all full-profession experts. They could refine as proficiently as they could kill.

If the old monster had just woken up recently after a sleep of forty thousand years, it was not strange that he knew the secret arts of the Cultivators and the methods of refining.

But even the experts of refining in ancient times might not have been able to produce a jade chip singlehandedly in only several minutes!

Li Yao touched the jade chip to his forehead, and his telepathic thoughts flooded in like a tide.

The capacity of the ancient jade chips was small, but they were convenient to use. The information could be stored or wiped as long as they were stuck to the forehead.

Li Yao retrieved a few classics hidden in the Heavenly Refining Tower from Ou Yezi’s memory pieces and transcribed them to the jade chip before he tossed the jade chip to Jin Xinyue casually.

“There are some crude training methods in the jade chip, which I retrieved after killing several Cultivators. Take a look at them.”

Chapter 851: Greetings, Elder

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Mimicking what Li Yao had just done, Jin Xinyue stuck the jade chip to the middle of her forehead, too. She summoned the spiritual energy inside her body, somewhat clumsily, and triggered it through the spiritual root that had only just grown.

Her telepathic thoughts extended deep into the jade chip like threads and were connected to the billions of telepathic thoughts that Li Yao had poured in just now.

Information streams resembling a tsunami immediately flooded into her brain. A series of glittering names of Cultivation techniques made her dazzled and dumbfounded.

‘Candle Dragon Polar Light Art’!

‘Fleeing Cloud Sword Art’!

‘Soul Hunting Memoir’!

Dozens of Cultivation arts, from elementary to advanced, constituted a complete training system for Cultivators, including the most fundamental training skills to the most powerful, unstoppable killing moves!

Jin Xinyue had seen the names of a few Cultivation arts in some ancient notes before. They were all powerful, unparalleled techniques that had once raised storms of blood before.

As for the other Cultivation arts, although she had never heard about them before, after browsing through the introduction and the table of contents, Jin Xinyue could also envision their magnificence.

The old monster tossed out so many different kinds of ultimate techniques so casually!

Jin Xinyue could not have been more awed. She felt that she was even more certain about Li Yao’s identity now.

The ancient techniques came from different Cultivation sects. It was impossible for a Cultivator to grasp all of them.

Only a ferocious demon who had slaughtered countless Cultivators in the ancient times could have been able to collect them!

He—he is really a strong ancient demon from forty thousand years ago who only just woke up recently!

Maybe the forest fire deep inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain half a month ago was caused when he woke up!

Yes. Yes. Everything makes sense now. He woke up in the forest fire, only to find that the world had greatly changed and the things that he was familiar with were gone. So, he hid himself in the Dry Leaf Village while he collected information about modern society. He accidentally ran into me and Elder Nether Spring’s subordinates and naturally wanted to know more stuff from us!

Opportunity! This is definitely an opportunity that just popped up out of nowhere. I must seize it!

Frenzy beamed out of the bottom of Jin Xinyue’s eyes as she licked her lips and her eyes shook. Then, her eyes gradually turned red before she suddenly kneeled before Li Yao heavily and cried, “Senior!

“Senior, we had not met before, but you came to my rescue in the emergency and saved my insignificant life even though Elder Nether Spring will certainly be infuriated!

“Right now, I don’t know what to do after the sudden changes that happened to me. While I am confused, it is you who is giving me enlightenment and offering me so many ultimate techniques!

“I could not return your great favors even if I turned into a dog that barked for you in the future!

“I—I have thought about it for a long time. There’s only one way that I can slightly repay what you’ve done for me, senior.

“If you don’t think that I’m too incapable, senior, I—I’m hoping that I can work for you and be a disciple of yours so that I can serve you and help you in the future!”

Li Yao was dazed, his eyes blinking uncontrollably.

Had the role he was playing not required mysteriousness, he would have burst into laughter.

He had given the techniques to Jin Xinyue for a very simple reason.

After a hundred years of conflict, many experts of the Blood Demon Sector would possess the Cultivation arts of human beings in the Heaven’s Origin Sector. Since Jin Xinyue had a capability of the Core Formation Stage, she would definitely find several techniques one way or another.

What Li Yao offered her, on the other hand, were the Cultivation arts of the other sects that the Hundred Smelting Clan had collected.

The Hundred Smelting Clan was best at producing magical equipment. Fighting was not its specialty. Therefore, when other Cultivation sects asked the Hundred Smelting Clan to refine magical equipment for them, they often provided some of their Cultivation arts in return.

It was not hard to imagine that the Cultivation arts that a sect was willing to trade for other items were certainly not the real ultimate techniques. Magnificent as they seemed to be, they often had fatal shortcomings or loopholes.

If Jin Xinyue practiced some other Cultivation arts, there was probably nothing Li Yao could do about it, but if she was to pick up those that Li Yao offered to her, she would never get out of Li Yao’s control.

Li Yao was quite wary of the saintess of the Pantheon of Demons who was both brutal and strong-willed. Opening a ‘backdoor’ inside her body was an approach to keep her in check, too.

But he did not expect that Jin Xinyue would take the chance and try to request to become his disciple.

Li Yao was crystal clear about what was on Jin Xinyue’s mind. He snorted and said, “You are a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons. Don’t tell me that you don’t have a master.”

Jin Xinyue sobbed so hard that her face had lost color, as if she were a devastated damsel who had nobody to rely on. She kneeled on the ground and cried, “You are right, senior. I do have a lot of tutors in the Pantheon of Demons. But the tutors merely trained me as a tool. There has never been a master that truly loved me and sheltered me. None of them are worthy enough for me serve them wholeheartedly.

“My father does not have much time to teach me because of the public affairs.

“I have seen a lot of unparalleled experts since I was little, but this is the first time that I’ve ever seen such an awe-inspiring figure like yourself, senior. That is why I proposed such an outrageous request in the spur of the moment.

“I know that, with my insignificant capability, I am not qualified to be your disciple at all, senior. I will have no complaints even if you say no. As long as I can stay around you as a servant and cater to your needs so that I have the opportunity to admire your demeanor every day, I will be satisfied and die without a regret in the future.”

“Is that so?” Li Yao smiled. “Didn’t you mention just now that you would like to be a dog barking for me? What if I really have methods that can transform you into a dog?”

Jin Xinyue was dazed for a moment. Her heart quivered uncontrollably. Hesitating for a long time, she gritted her teeth and said, “As long as I can follow you and return your favor for saving my life, I will certainly have no objections if I have to be turned into a dog!

“Senior, truth be told, I’m really at a dead end right now.

“The Blood Demon Sector is a world of hypocrites where the strong prey on the weak. I became a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons after a lot of trouble. Naturally, I made a lot of enemies during the process.

“Now, sudden changes have happened to me, and I have turned into a human being. There is no telling when I will regain my original appearance.

“My enemies will certainly not let go of such a great opportunity.

“Right now, Elder Nether Spring is hunting me down, and the Pantheon of Demons is probably going to capture me and cut me into pieces for research. I don’t know how my father will treat me if he is thinking about the ‘big picture’.

“I—I have been thinking about a lot of things recently. I have absolutely nobody to turn to, and I am in a desperate situation right now!

“You are my only hope, senior. You are a lantern in the endless night. Is there a second road that I can walk on except following you loyally, senior?”

Jin Xinyue spoke truthfully and sincerely.

Li Yao sniffed lightly. After everything he’d been through in the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector, he was no longer the hotblooded young man he had once been. Naturally, he did not believe a single word that the female demon said.

However, she did have a special identity, which was quite important for Li Yao’s plan.

After staying in the Blood Demon Sector for half a month, Li Yao had basically outlined the situation right now based on the information he retrieved from the residents of the Dry Leaf Village, the Lei Chuang and Lei Qi brothers, and Jin Xinyue herself.

One month ago, the Blood Demon Sector launched a large-scale attack against the Heaven’s Origin Sector known as the Battle of Dawn. They scourged the entire Grand Desolate Plateau, and their vanguard even reached the Giant Blade Pass at the south of the Grand Desolation Plateau.

As soon as the Giant Blade Pass was broken through, the most prosperous and vulnerable land of the Star Glory Federation would have been open to them.

Although the demons lost the Battle of Dawn in the end, the Blood Demon Sector did not suffer any substantial losses. On the contrary, it was the infrastructures and towns of human beings on the Grand Desolation Plateau that were mostly wrecked.

On the Grand Desolation Mountain, which was in lack of resources and population, it was easy to demolish a town, but it would be extremely difficult to rebuild one.

It was safe to say that the road leading to the abdomen of the Star Glory Federation had been paved after the Battle of Dawn.

Right now, the Blood Demon Sector was in the middle of another mobilization. Even a small, remote village of the chaotic-blood demons such as the Dry Leaf Village had to provide fifty soldiers. It was not hard to guess that the mobilization would be ten times more intense than that of the Battle of Dawn.

This was a general mobilization of the Blood Demon Sector!

Once the general mobilization was completed, an army of demons that was in an unprecedently enormous scale would march toward the Heaven’s Origin Sector. It was perhaps going to be the real final war between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector!

In the final war, the commander-in-chief on the Blood Demon Sector’s side would be Jin Tuyi, Jin Xinyue’s father!

I have to find a way to approach Jin Tuyi and learn the Blood Demon Sector’s plan in the final war. Then, I’ll figure out a way to send the war plan of the Blood Demon Sector back to the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

Other than that, Elder Nether Spring’s schemes are worth noting, too. Is the drug that can turn a demon into a human being a by-product that he got by accident, or are there deeper plots behind it?

Besides, in order to purge the foreign blood condensed by the Blood Stripe Virus, I must have a deep understanding about cells and genes, which is indeed an aspect that the demons have more expertise on than human beings do.

Thinking about that, Li Yao waved his hands. An invisible force lifted Jin Xinyue up.

Without giving an answer, he said casually, “Stand up!”

Observing his emotionless face, Jin Xinyue did not dare ask for an answer anymore. Her eyes shuddered, and she asked, “Thank you for keeping me around you, senior, but I wonder, how should I address you?”

Li Yao pondered for a moment and said, “I do not want to expose my identity. Just call me ‘Lei Qi’ and regard me as your subordinate when there are outsiders. As for my real name, just keep it in your mind and never leak it. If anybody else learns it from you, don’t blame me for my mercilessness!

“A very, very long time ago, in a place far, far away, everybody called me ‘Bloody Vulture’.”

A strange brilliance shone in Jin Xinyue’s eyes as she said calmly, “It’s a pleasure to have met you, elder!”

Jin Xinyue kneeled down again and cheered on the ground. “Elder Bloody Vulture is invincible in the universe with his amazing arts. I am unbelievably lucky to have had the chance to follow elder and do whatever I can to help!”

Chapter 852: Adventure in the Primeval Era

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Three days later, deep inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain, Li Yao was curled up like a hibernating animal in a natural crater hundreds of meters deep.

He was meditating.

Li Yao had received a lot of secret techniques for the training of demons from Jin Xinyue, and Jin Xinyue had begun to study the Cultivation arts of human beings, too. The two of them both needed time to understand and digest the new knowledge. Therefore, they had moved deeper into the Hundred Desolation Mountain.

The three days of journeying had been partly hiking and partly practicing. Li Yao was an expert in the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage in the first place and had inherited part of the techniques of the Blood Stripe Virus, which could transform the body. Therefore, the rudimental theories on genetics and cytology were not difficult for him.

Today was the first day that he would consciously pry into the secrets deep inside the cells.

Meditation meant ruling out all the irrelevant thoughts and achieving the grand unification of the body and the soul so that one would be able to observe their internal organs and even their soul. It was the basis for all kinds of training.

There were hundreds of ways to enter a meditative state. The one that Li Yao chose was ‘Fetus Meditation’. He half closed his eyes and relaxed while he began to reflect on his entire life. From his recent experience in the Blood Demon Sector, back to the Flying Star Sector, and back to the Heaven’s Origin Sector, his memories were being replayed like an ebbing ocean.

With the flashbacks of his life, all the irrelevant thoughts were dismissed. His consciousness became as pure and stable as a newborn baby, until in the end, his entire world was wreathed in a cluster of warm darkness. His memories had gone back to the time in his mother’s womb when he was being bred while he soaked in the warm amniotic fluid.

His soul slightly shivered, and he was secluded from the real world. Li Yao completely entered the meditative state.

His consciousness constricted into a light ball the size of needle tip before it suddenly expanded and filled the entire body.

His consciousness split into billions of telepathic thoughts while he observed his body with his mind from various perspectives.

His vision pierced through his skin and his flesh, allowing him to clearly see the internal organs, his beating heart, his fluctuating lungs, his wriggling intestines, and his gastric juice that was being secreted.

Li Yao was not satisfied yet. His consciousness dived deeper. All the internal organs, flesh, and blood disappeared. They were replaced by dense veins, lymph, and nerve networks that looked like honeycombs.

He saw sparks bursting out brilliantly deep side his brain cells and flowing toward the nerve endings through the nerve tracts with lightning-like speed, constituting a magnificent, complicated palace that looked as neat as a labyrinth.

Deeper, deeper.

Just like waving away the layered clouds and falling to the ground, when Li Yao’s consciousness explored deeper into the microscopic universe, his veins, lymph, and nerve networks disappeared just like his internal organs did. In front of him was a wonderful new world that looked like a crammed universe. Transparent, colorful planets were floating everywhere. Each of them was releasing lightning, flames, and storms while receiving everything from other planets.

Li Yao knew that those transparent planets were his cells.

He mumbled the spell of the secret techniques that he had just learned and covered his consciousness with spiritual energy. Then, he tried to penetrate an enormous cell like a tiny tadpole.

The membrane of the cell seemed as vulnerable as a bubble. Yet, it was extremely tensile. Li Yao slid off the membrane multiple times, and it was not until his soul released a special weak electric current and tickled the membrane that it absorbed him promptly after shaking slightly.

The world inside the cell was a glamorous, splendid ocean with colorful, bizarrely shaped plankton everywhere.

Some of the plankton looked like cocoons. They released a bright golden brilliance and unleashed clusters of lightning-like energy while they shook unstably in the undercurrents like golden aquatic plants.

They were the mitochondria, the fundamental provider of energy for a cell and the source of strength.

However, Li Yao had no time to train the mitochondria today because his soul had been attracted to the nucleus.

In the center of the cell, the nucleus looked both like an enormous swirl and a weird eye. It sent an enchanting invitation to him, and his soul could not help but swim over immediately.

Like a starship captured by the gravity of a planet, his soul could not resist it at all when it was absorbed into the nucleus.

Li Yao seemed to have passed through an endless, dark pathway where time and space were both meaningless. The various kinds of plankton that had been stretched resembled the stars in a clear night sky. He had only seen such unbelievably splendid views before when he was travelling in the four-dimensional universe.

Maybe the demons are right. Every cell is a tiny universe where endless mysteries are kept, even including the secrets of the primeval era…

His thought flashed and quickly disappeared. Li Yao forgot everything and completely dwelled in the deepest part of his cell.

He seemed to have been absorbed into a black hole. Everything behind him had become narrow, long lines.

After Li Yao floated for he didn’t know how long, enormous chains in pairs that tied each other up helically appeared. They surrounded him and span slowly like behemothic pythons that bit each other’s tails and were about the swallow the universe, forming a cone-shaped ‘funnel’.

Along the edge of the funnel, Li Yao dived deeper and deeper into the funnel one circle after another. As the diameter of the funnel diminished, his speed became higher and higher until he was almost stretched into a noodle billions of lightyears long.

Li Yao could see that every helical chain was connected to each other by glamorous scripture and that the scripture consisted of astronomical information. The information was not text, images, or sound, but ‘super information’ that was folded and compressed from the four-dimension or even higher dimensions!

“Ahhh!”

When he fell to the bottom of the cone, Li Yao’s soul was wrapped into a singularity. He suddenly felt frightened for reasons he did not know, and he suspected that he would be trapped there forever. Therefore, he shouted and struggled hard!

Maybe, before the universe was born, a certain existence sleeping deep inside the nothingness shouted and struggled in exactly the same way, and thus the universe was created!

BOOM!

The palace of gene strands collapsed all of a sudden. All the broken parts of the genes turned into glittering pieces, and all the pieces assembled into a brand-new world.

Li Yao found himself standing on wet, hot ground. He stood in a daze for a long time before he finally remembered who he was.

It was a nascent world. The earth seemed to be made of flames. The crust was extremely unstable and shaking violently all the time, and volcanoes rose from the bottom of the ocean every once in a while. The magma vaporized the seawater and brought about a bright purple sky.

It was… the primeval era!

Li Yao was not the only creature in the scorching, desolate world. Earsplitting explosions resembling unceasing thunder were echoing in the sky.

Li Yao raised his head, only to discover two super starships that were so enormous that they seemed to have been made by emptying and refining two planets.

The starships were so large that they occupied more than half of the sky. Their attraction force even tore apart the feeble earth, making countless rocks and even hills fly into the sky toward them, only to be crushed into pieces when they hit the spiritual shields of the starships. In the end, glamorous rings were formed around the starships.

Even the seawater had been absorbed up into the sky, forming waterspouts that could be tens of thousands of meters high. The mountains of water seemed to be the young arms of the newborn world trying to touch the powerful civilizations from the depths of the universe.

“Kunlun!”

“Penglai!” 1

Li Yao thought of something. For some reason, the names of the two super starships popped up in his mind naturally.

When his eyes passed the two super starships, he saw an unfathomably huge sun in the high sky that was radiating light and heat incessantly. The tentacles made by the solar prominences seemed like it was reaching for the planet and would destroy everything there at any time.

However, on the enormous sun, there was a small black spot that was expanding and spreading at a visible speed. A giant ‘shield’ was being constructed on the surface of the sun.

A tremendous force was even bashing the sun brutally right next to the shield, and after every bash, the light of the sun would diminish a tiny bit.

For some reason, Li Yao realized the significance of everything being done here.

The star is too furious and too close to the planet, resulting in the high temperature on the planet that is unfavorable for life.

Even though there is life, when the solar flares break out, everything on the planet will be easily ruined.

The Kuafu Clan is chasing after the sun and calculating the orbit and all the relevant data of the star precisely. They are also building a ‘ Kuafu sphere 2 ‘ on the orbit of the star so that all the energy that the star releases will be absorbed as the source of power to modify the galaxy.

Together with the Kuafu Clan is a super starship of the Houyi Clan. When the ‘Kuafu sphere’ has absorbed enough energy, the main gun of the starship of the Houyi Clan will open fire and adjust the energy release pattern of the star and alter its level!

Kuafu chases after the sun, and Houyi shoots it. They are modifying the world so that it will have an environment favorable for life!

Li Yao retreated his eyes. Kunlun, which was floating in midair, suddenly opened a narrow, long crack beneath it from which hundreds of giants flew out.

The giants were all hundreds of meters tall. Their skin was lead-gray and covered in wrinkles. Their heads were huge with sharp tusks. They looked like combinations of enormous dinosaurs and human beings.

All the giants that resembled dinosaurs were not wearing any clothes, but their private parts were blocked by a material that looked like both metal and wood. Their faces were solemn, and endless nebulas seemed to be condensing inside their gray eyes.

Every giant was holding a glass that was similar to the color of their skin. They floated to the top of the furious ocean in groups and raised their heads, drinking the liquids inside the glasses one after another.

“Wu…”

A moment later, the gray giants screamed, half delightedly and half painfully, from deep within their chests. Their skin gradually turned transparent, and their bodies glowed as they collapsed like pure sand, turning into seeds of life and dispersing in the ocean of the primeval era.

Before the last giant collapsed, he seemed to notice Li Yao and smiled at Li Yao in great comfort. Opening his lips, he said—

1. Kunlun and Penglai are the names of two mountains which were regarded as the dwelling place of various gods and goddesses, where fabled plants and mythical creatures may also be found, in Chinese mythology.
2. See ‘Dyson sphere’ on Wikipedia for more explanation of the device.

 flycrane01

“Kuafu chasing after the sun” and “Houyi shooting down the suns” are two legends in Chinese mythology. The author is attempting a modern adaptation of the ancient tales here. Don’t feel frustrated if you find the part of the story unrelatable, because it requires a certain amount of cultural knowledge.

Chapter 853: Atavism

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Weird waves in the shape of rings suddenly appeared around the primeval giants, which spread out like ripples. The information was not transmitted via the soundwave but sent to Li Yao by overlapping hundreds of different kinds of waves in a more mysterious way.

Every word contained information as enormous as a planet. Li Yao felt like he was bashed right in the head. He was in a trance as if he had just woken up from a dream.

He seemed to travel through billions of years within a moment. He saw that cells floated in the seawater and slowly congregated, evolving from monads to metazoans, and to trilobites, Nautilus, dinosaurs, smilodon, mammoths, and monkeys. The planet also flourished in the big bang of life, turning from desolation into opulence.

Li Yao’s soul could not withstand such transmission at all.

He was like an ant that crawled to the entrance of a splendid palace which was as high as the sky. Before he had the time to explore the endless treasures inside the palace, he was overwhelmed by the magnificence of the palace and even completely lost in it, wandering around and yet unable to find a way out.

Sometimes, he was floating along with the current as a trilobite.

Sometimes, he was a clumsy herbivorous dinosaur hiding from the predators in a humid forest.

Sometimes, he turned into an enormous smilodon that was shuddering in the snow world.

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!

The pouring of the primeval giants was lingering on. Information streams as vast as the sea of stars were blown into the depths of Li Yao’s soul. Li Yao gradually lost his consciousness and forgot who he was. It seemed that he was going to be trapped in the weird primeval world forever.

Right then, a shriek suddenly echoed right behind him. Somebody seemed to have plucked the hair on the back of his head, making him shudder in a chill and come back to himself.

When he was woken up, a spring that had been stretched to the maximum seemed to tie his waist up and pull him out of the primeval world brutally.

His consciousness passed through clouds, stars, and the black hole. It reappeared in the deepest part of his cells, and the gene strands, the cell nucleus, the chromosomes, and the mitochondria slid past him in a flash. He penetrated through the membrane, the veins, the lymphangion, the internal organs, the flesh, and the skin, returning to the center of his brain!

“What is wrong with you!”

The mental devil burst into fury and cursed aloud while jumping up down inside his brain. “Genes are the most mysterious existences in the world. Even the Blood Stripe Virus dares not say that it has completely grasped the secrets of genes. You don’t know the first thing about genes, and you were bold enough to explore such deeper places?

“Do you have any idea that your body near broke apart just now. Your cells could have exploded, and your body could have been disintegrated into pus or even gas!

“If you are of a mind to kill yourself, why don’t you hand over the body to me, brother? Don’t be so wasteful, okay?”

Li Yao opened his mouth, only to fail to utter a single syllable. His body seemed to have turned into a cluster of transparent fruit jelly where his veins, nerves, and bones were being condensed again. It was not until after a minute of loss that his soul completely returned to reality from the far-flung primeval world and he sensed his body again.

He immediately noticed that something was wrong.

He had been training in a natural crater almost a hundred meters in diameter. But now, he was buried deep beneath a mountain with heavy rocks in every direction. He seemed to be a fossil that was embedded into the rocks.

“What has happened?”

“Just now, you trained yourself too much and triggered the strength deep inside the cells, unleashing the energy that at least equaled the explosion of a ton of crystal bombs,” the mental devil replied. “It is only reasonable that the crater collapsed!”

Li Yao secretly clicked his tongue while cold sweat was popping up.

Energy always abided by the law of conservation. Since he had unleashed too much energy, as a result, his body was greatly exhausted, too. The mental devil was not lying to him. He had been very close to having a breakdown and being vaporized into smoke!

Li Yao tasted everything that he sensed inside his cell, especially the information that the primeval giant had taught him in the end.

Most of the information was obscure and looked like ciphertexts that had been highly compressed. Only a tiny proportion of it was unfolded slowly and flowed around his body in a mysterious way, making him understand a brand-new technique in the most natural way.

It was a whole new structure of the mitochondria and the cell membrane as well as a method to build such a structure.

Li Yao entered the internal observation state again, shallowly this time, and guided his spiritual energy to nourish and blow the cells on his left arm consciously.

His left arm had been invaded by the Blood Stripe Virus, and the cells were extremely unstable. For other people, it was a shortcoming, but for the training of cells, the unsteadiness of the cells made it easily for Li Yao to transform them.

As the spiritual waves stimulated the cells incessantly in a certain frequency, a glass seal deep inside the cells seemed to be shattered all of a sudden. The lackluster information contained in a certain gene strand suddenly sparkled eye-catchingly like a crystal.

The mitochondria quickly expanded and split, growing wrinkles that looked like those on the cerebrum!

As a result, the mitochondria was absorbing the spiritual energy at a speed at least five time higher than before!

Bolstered by the additional spiritual energy, the membrane was extending unstable tentacles in all directions like a furiously burning sun. Every tentacle was a cluster of extremely thin villus.

The billions of villi waved crazily, exchanging materials, energy, and information with the outside world. The cell was over ten times more vigorous than before!

“Are they… demonized cells?”

The cells after transformation had almost exactly the same appearance as Jin Xinyue’s demonized cells, but they appeared to be more active and stronger than Jin Xinyue’s!

Training was more important. Li Yao had no time to think. In the same way, he transformed many cells inside his left arm according to the tutelage of the primeval giant.

For some reason, Li Yao sensed that he seemed to have activated some new abilities of his left arm, and he could manipulate the upgraded cells to do a lot of amazing things.

Shua!

Li Yao clenched his fists hard. Three sharp spurs protruded out of the top of his left fist. Each spur was almost one foot long, with silver brightness shining vaguely.

With Li Yao’s experience in materials, his natural-grown spurs were definitely harder than a lot of strengthened alloys!

When he opened his fingers, the spurs retracted into his body naturally, but dark golden scales grew out on the back of his hand, which quickly spread upwards and enveloped his fingers, forming a natural combat glove. His five fingers seemed to have turned into five ferocious dragons.

He pressed lightly on a hard rock nearby and crushed it as if it were a piece of tofu. He crunched the piece of the rock inside his palm, and it turned into the finest sand within a moment.

Li Yao blew the sand away and shook his hands, making his left hand return to normal.

The changes on the outside were not important. The enhancement to such an extent could be accomplished by a lot of magical equipment and weapons.

What Li Yao valued more was the internal changes. After being modified, the cells were significantly more vigorous. They could split all the time, which improved the hardness of his body greatly. The speed of his recovery after he was wounded would be at least three times higher than before!

What has happened? I have grown ‘demonized cells’ naturally by doing nothing except training?

No, I’m afraid that such cells are not as simple as ‘demonized cells’. I think it is more precise to call them ‘primeval cells’.

If everything that I saw while in the meditative state is real and happened billions of years ago, the primeval giants are very likely to be the earliest ancestors of human beings.

Pangu, Kuafu, Zhurong, Gonggong, Houyi, Nuwa…

The magnificent beings in the prehistoric legends not only enjoyed a high prestige among the demons but were also acknowledged by human beings, too.

The historians of the Heaven’s Origin Sector had even proved that the so-called ‘Pangu’ was actually a civilization of dinosaurs in the prehistoric era.

However, according to Li Yao’s memory, it was inaccurate to call Pangu a civilization of dinosaurs. More precisely speaking, Pangu evolved into all things. Dinosaurs and human beings alike were the descendants of Pangu.

The only difference was that dinosaurs were the descendants of a relatively earlier stage and therefore must have kept more techniques of the Pangu Clan than human beings did.

Pangu evolved into all things and hid their hereditary information in the deepest parts of the cells, which was passed on generation after generation, from the trilobites to dinosaurs, from dinosaurs to monkeys, and from monkeys to human beings.

Therefore, deep inside the cells of human beings, at the very bottom of the gene strands, lies Pangu’s legacy!

Stimulating the cells in a special way of training will activate the legacy of the Pangu Clan, which is hidden in the deepest part of the gene strands. As a result, the cells will be modified and return to the magnificent form of the primeval era billions of years ago!

Maybe, this is a kind of ‘atavism’!

The so-called ‘atavism’ referred to the phenomena where a living creature showed the features of their ancestors. For example, some newborns would grow long hair all over their body, or an abnormal tail, or particularly sharp canine teeth.

It was well believed that atavism was a regression of life.

If the evolution line was a straight line, and every generation of life was stronger than the previous generation, the assumption might have been valid.

However, what if evolution was not a straight line but a spiral, with faults and setbacks?

It had been only a hundred thousand years since human beings evolved from monkeys, while the earliest life human beings were aware of could be dated back to billions of years ago!

If the evolution of life was shortened to one year, then, the glorious history of mankind was merely the last minute of the last hour of the last day of the year!

The so-called civilization of mankind had only appeared at the last several seconds.

Before the civilization of mankind was born, during the 364 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes, had there been ancestors that were far stronger than human beings, such as the Pangu Clan, the Kuafu Clan, the Zhurong Clan, and the Nuwa Clan in the primeval era?

If atavism made the victim show the characters of monkeys some hundred thousand years ago, it was certain a regression.

But if the atavism made someone show the characters of the dinosaurs a hundred million years ago, was it really regression?

Moreover, what if the atavism could make modern people show certain characteristics of the greatest experts of the primeval era who could make or break a world?

“I understand it now!”

In the darkness, Li Yao’s right eye, which was exposed to the outside, was as brilliant as onyx. His vision seemed to have travelled in the river of time and returned to billions of years ago when the ancestors were building a universe from scratch again. He mumbled to himself, “By training, I’ve activated the dormant genes in the deepest part of my cells and made my cells experience atavism!”

Chapter 854: Another Clash

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Some of the cells inside my body have reverted to the form of my ancestors’ cells billions of years ago. With the help of the ‘primeval cells’, it’s only natural that I can activate more powerful techniques right now!

Li Yao had once trained with ‘Iron God’ Yan Ba, a body fundamentalist. The methodology of the body fundamentalists was to wake up the ‘primeval force’ inside one’s body!

Before, as a refiner, Li Yao had found it hard to understand why anybody would fight with their body stupidly while ignoring the powerful magical equipment.

Right now, he finally understood that the training path of the body fundamentalists was very similar to that of the demons. They were all trying to force themselves to enter a certain ‘atavism’ state so that the primeval force inside their body could be awakened.

However, the body fundamentalists paid more attention to the build-up of the soul, whereas the demons were more interested in the transformation of cells.

So, there are no ‘demonized cells’ at all. The so-called ‘demonized cells’ are just normal cells in their primeval state after going through atavism.

Here comes the questions. If the ‘demonized cells’ are actually ‘primeval cells’, then what are demons exactly?

It was stated clearly in the history books of the Star Glory Federation that the demon race was a biochemical weapon brewed based on animals during the first civil war of Cultivators at the end of the ancient Cultivation world forty thousand years ago.

Right now, Li Yao completely discarded such a theory.

The question was going to be a headache if he dug into it deeper. Li Yao felt that his head was dizzy, and fatigue swallowed him like a tide.

He knew that he could not allow himself to fall asleep under billions of tons of rocks. Gritting his teeth, he activated part of the recessive genes inside the cells of his left arm, transforming it into the form of scales and claws again, while he dug upwards.

BOOM!

After more than ten minutes, the slightly collapsed ground erupted with mud and dust like a volcano. Li Yao jumped out after a long roar, and he floated in midair as he gazed at the ground, which was now a mess.

The Blood Demon Sector had a rough environment. The air there was not suitable for human beings. A layer of dense venomous gas seemed to be flowing all the time. Before, Li Yao had constantly been dealing with it.

But now, his lungs, which had been strengthened by the primeval cells, were not uncomfortable at all when he breathed the ‘venomous gas’. If anything, he even felt that it was almost sweet.

It’s a similar smell to the primeval era!

Li Yao smiled and glanced around, only to find Jin Xinyue squatting nearby, covered in dust and shuddering in fear.

Li Yao found it odd. “What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to train yourself hard?”

Jin Xinyue was so scared that her face was pale. She did not even dare to complain, even in her heart, while she quickly replied, “I—I was practicing wholeheartedly a moment ago, but you made a significant breakthrough in your training, elder. Your aura was intimidating, and the earth collapsed. I was caught in the surging tide of your overwhelming demonic energy. I was suppressed by the air around you and could not even stand on my feet. Please—please do excuse me for my lack of manners, elder!”

What is this old—old—Elder Bloody Vulture practicing just now exactly? The surrounding five kilometers have collapsed!

Jin Xinyue did not have the courage to call Li Yao an ‘old monster’ anymore and began to use the courteous title obediently.

After the shock just now, she was truly intimidated by Li Yao and had no courage to defy him at all. She even thought that, since Elder Bloody Vulture seemed so strong, she might gain a lot of benefits if she truly served as his disciple.

Li Yao looked around and scratched his head somewhat in embarrassment. Naturally, he would not tell Jin Xinyue that the shocking view was only because he had lost control over himself during his training.

Thankfully, there was already a ‘mental devil’ inside Li Yao’s brain, which meant that Li Yao was already in a mentally deranged state.

A man who was mentally deranged could not be mentally deranged again.

Li Yao was very clear that his practice just now nearly destroyed all his cells. In a real battle, there was no way that he could wield such power.

However, demonic energy?

Li Yao sniffed and noticed that there was indeed a new smell on his body. It was feeble and perhaps unperceivable for ordinary people. It was not stinky and felt like a combination of fighting will and the smell of blood.

It’s truly demonic energy!

Li Yao was slightly dazed.

In the past, he had only known that the expert demons would release a lot of demonic energy when they were summoning all of their capability, just like Cultivators would release a lot of spiritual waves when they were in their peak state.

Demonic energy was one of the most important features to distinguish a demon.

Li Yao blinked. His telepathic thoughts entered his body and observed internally in search of the origin of the demonic energy. Soon, he traced it back to the mitochondria inside the primeval cells.

So, this is the case. After being strengthened, the mitochondria has an efficiency three to five times higher than normal mitochondria. Such high-intensity functioning naturally brings about a lot of waste.

The waste leaks out of the cell through the membrane and is transported to the body’s surface through capillary vessels and the lymph. In the end, it is excreted through the pores.

The so-called ‘demonic energy’ is actually waste that the primeval cells release when they are functioning at a high speed.

The mitochondria of the Cultivators certainly produces garbage, too, but the Cultivators utilize spiritual energy in a different way from the demons. They never pump the cells with spiritual energy to trigger a mutation. Therefore, the ‘waste’ that the cells of the Cultivators generate is little to none, and it is barely possible to detect it.

So, this is the mystery of demonic energy!

The finding both startled and baffled Li Yao.

Right now, he had a lot of ‘primeval cells’ that were similar to ‘demonized cells’ inside his body. Even if he went through the blood test of the demon race, he would not worry that his real identity of a human being might be found out.

Besides, with a telepathic thought, the mitochondria inside his primeval cells would run crazily, and immense demonic energy would immediately be unleashed. There was no need for a blood test at all. Anybody would respect him as a ferocious demon!

However, with abundant primeval cells inside his body and the fact that he could trigger immense ‘demonic energy’, was he a ‘human being’ at all now?

…

Under the moonlight, amid the bamboo, a girl was wearing soft gauze, her feet bare with red paint on her nails that looked like shells. She was dancing like a deity with brilliance of a sword flashing up and down, giving the feeling that she did not belong to this world.

Nobody could possibly have imagined that the girl who looked like a goddess walking on the earth was a demon only a few days ago.

Sitting cross-legged on a giant rock not far away, Li Yao held his chin while he observed Jin Xinyue practicing her technique.

But there was a new clash inside his brain.

The mental devil launched another attack, trying to shake his belief, while he was baffled by his identity.

However, the mental devil did not look hideous and disgusting anymore. Instead, it had put on a vintage robe and looked like a pure gentleman.

Even Li Yao was greatly surprised when he saw its new appearance. He had never thought that he would look so handsome when he was dressing in an ancient style!

“Everything happening here is really interesting.” The mental devil smiled mildly. “Imagine that the soul of a human being has crawled into the body of a demon and that the soul of a demon possessed a completely authentic human body. Then, which of the two is a human being and which is a demon?”

Li Yao’s belief was not shaken. He replied quickly, “One’s mind, or rather, soul, determines whether they are a human being or a demon.

“The Star Glory Federation has granted full human rights for the ‘spectral Cultivators’, who are legally equal to human beings. Spectral Cultivators are made of the soul of a human being and a metal shell. No matter what they look like, they are human beings!”

The mental devil shook its head. “Not exactly. The thing about ‘mind’ and ‘soul’ is that it is too intangible. Who knows what they are exactly?

“Is there really much a difference between the soul of a human being and that of a demon?

“Imagine that, one day, Jin Xinyue betrayed her species and considered herself a human being wholeheartedly for a certain reason, say, realizing her mistakes, or due to her survival instincts.

“Then, is her soul still the soul of a demon? Is she still a demon?”

Li Yao thought quickly. The question bothered him and slightly shook his belief.

The mental devil immediately expanded. The bloody aura around it was like the sunlight at dawn, making the mental devil magnificent and undefeatable.

Li Yao frowned and said, “Maybe, human beings and demons are not different at all.

“I don’t know what exactly happened forty thousand years ago that led to the birth of the demon race.

“But with everything I’ve discovered, it is most certainly not because a reckless Cultivator invented the ‘Demon God Virus’.

“Maybe, the demons are body fundamentalists who have Cultivated to the peak?”

Li Yao’s eyes suddenly shone as he said that. “Yes. It is a plausible possibility. Demons are human beings that walked on a different path of training. There are no essential differences between them!

“If so, there is no reason for the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector to keep on fighting. The two parties can work together against the Imperium of True Human Beings!”

The mental devil was silent for such a long time that Li Yao suspected that it had sunk into his brain again, but out of nowhere, the mental devil burst into wild laughter.

The gentleness of the mental devil was completely ripped apart as it rolled on the ground holding its belly. He laughed so hard that bloody tears were flowing, and the edges of his mouth almost reached his ears.

Li Yao sensed intense contempt. He asked solemnly, “What are you laughing for?”

“Your childishness, of course!” Wiping his tears, the mental devil laughed hard. “Let’s say that human beings and the demon race have the same origin. So what? It’s been forty thousand years!

“A hundred thousand years ago, human beings and monkeys shared the same origin, too. But if a monkey came to you, would you think that it is your compatriot?

“Besides, even if it is a ‘compatriot’ to you, so what?

“You wouldn’t be so naïve as to believe that the war between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector is because one party consists of human beings and the other consists of demons, would you?

“Hehe. Forty thousand years ago, there were no ‘demons’ at all. Was there not such a huge civil war that almost all the Sectors were ruined?

“At present, the Imperium of True Human Beings is governed by human beings, too, but you don’t see eye to eye with each other!

“Just admit it! Maybe human beings are just a species born for killing. For resources, for benefits, for feelings, for honor, for all kinds of weird reasons, and sometimes for no reasons at all, you will kill each other!

“Your enemy is the demon race, and you kill them. But would you be merciful if they were human beings?

“Haha. You were worried that human beings would be lustful for killing and wars when the Blood Stripe Virus spread out.

“In my opinion, the Blood Stripe Virus is truly not to blame. Over the past forty thousand years, human beings have not been infected by the Blood Strip Virus, but have they been less lustful for killing and wars?

“Wait. I’ve suddenly come up with another possibility.

“Say, is it possible that all human beings are infected by something similar to the Blood Stripe Virus when they were born?

“If that is the case, it doesn’t matter now that you are infected by me for a second time, does it?”

Chapter 855: Who’s Wiping Out Whom?

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Li Yao took a long, deep breath and gradually calmed down his messy mind.

His soul was like a flawless gem, and no matter how the mental devil surveyed it, there was not the tiniest gap through which the mental devil could infiltrate at all. “There’s no need for fancy talk. I will find the origin of the demon race. If the demon race and mankind share the same origin and there is no reason for the two parties to attack each other, I will try my best to stop the war that could potentially destroy both worlds!”

“Haha. Hahahaha!”

The mental devil laughed so hard that it could barely catch its breath. “Human beings and demons have fought for forty thousand years. The blood shed during that period is enough to extinguish a burning star. They are literally ‘sworn enemies’. How are you going to stop the fire with nobody but yourself?

“Right now, the Blood Demon Sector and the Star Glory Federation are both in the highest state of war, summoning all of their resources available. The war machines are now functioning at full capacity. When a bullet is locked and loaded, you have to shoot it no matter what. Even though your capability is equal to that of the Nascent Soul Stage and demon emperor, so what? You will only be crushed into a sandwich if you choose to stand in the middle of two colliding worlds!

“Besides, your identity is unfavorable on both sides.

“In the Blood Demon Sector, you cannot reveal your identity as a Cultivator, or you will certainly be attacked collectively by all the demons.

“If you return to the Heaven’s Origin Sector, how are you going to prove that you are the pure ‘Li Yao’, not under the influence of the Blood Stripe Virus?

“Yan Xibei could not prove that, nor can you.

“Therefore, nobody is going to believe what you say. The Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector will not trust each other, either.

“Even if you manage to reach out to the leadership of the Blood Demon Sector, say, Jin Tuyi, the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of the demons, and you persuade the twelve demon emperors of the Pantheon of Demons to abort the plan on attack the Heaven’s Origin Sector and end the war, how can they be certain that it is not some plot of the Heaven’s Origin Sector? How can they be assured that the Heaven’s Origin Sector will choose peace, too, when they stop the war?

“Hehe. Do you feel that human beings are innocent victims who are defending their home and that demons are the evil, aggressive intruders? Do you think that the two worlds will live in peace forever as long as you work in the Blood Demon Sector?

“In fact, deep in your heart, you know that it is not the truth, don’t you?

“You know that the Grand Desolate Plateau was home to the demons. Almost a hundred demon kingdoms in which countless demons lived once flourished on the Grand Desolate Plateau. Eventually, the multiple expeditions launched by the Star Glory Federation destroyed all the demon kingdoms and swallowed the Grand Desolate Plateau!

“On your way to the Grand Desolate Plateau, right before the Giant Blade Pass, have you not seen the tower high into the sky in person? Did you not feel proud and hotblooded for the great achievement of the Star Glory Federation’s expansion of its territory?

“Besides, the Heaven’s Origin Sector has its own plan to conquer the Blood Demon Sector, too. Wasn’t the ‘Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit’ designed for such a plan? When millions of federal soldiers are all equipped with the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, the iron heels of the Star Glory Federation will soon stomp on the entire Blood Demon Sector!

“Therefore, how are you going to convince the leadership of the Blood Demon Sector that your so-called ‘ceasefire’ is not an evil plan of the Heaven’s Origin Sector to make them give up resistance?

“By the same logic, even if you persuaded the twelve demons, how are you going to convince the primed soldiers, the ambitious generals, and the Speaker of Parliament, who has great plans for the future, that peace will embrace them as soon as they stop the war? Why will they believe that it is not a scheme of the Blood Demon Sector and that you haven’t turned against your own species and become a spy for the Blood Demon Sector?

“Right. I’m sorry. I was mistaken.”

The mental devil giggled and said, “Look at yourself. There are ‘demonized cells’ everywhere inside your body. With a telepathic thought, you can unleash intense demonic energy. I’m afraid that you are not even qualified to be a spy for the Blood Demon Sector!”

Li Yao was rendered speechless. He could not do anything except stand by his beliefs.

The mental devil smiled casually. “It suddenly occurs to me that the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector are now in a standard dark forest situation.

“I think that the smartest individuals of the two worlds who clearly know the capabilities of the two worlds can certainly reach the conclusion, after careful calculations, that the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector will perish together in a strategical final war since they are on par with each other. Nobody will be a winner!

“But why have the smartest individuals not tried to cease the war when they realized that the war will bring neither party any good?

“Because they can’t.

“In a modern war, for two forces that are on par with each other, the side that orders a general mobilization and enter the highest warring state first will get more resources and soldiers in the war, and they will have the advantage in the war.

“Stopping the mobilization means suicide.

“The warring state cannot last forever. It is like a balloon that is being blown nonstop. There will certainly be a point where it explodes.

“Therefore, the two worlds cannot trust the sincerity of the peace offer from each other, nor can they stop their general mobilization. So, a final war is inevitable. They can only expect to swallow the enemy before their own economy collapses and then heal their wounds slowly.

“Even if one of the two parties wishes peace sincerely, how can they be sure that the other party wants peace sincerely, too? Two people are each pointing a gun at each other’s forehead, and their fingers are both placed on the triggers, slightly exerting strength. Which of the two is willing to lay down their gun first?

“Hehe. This is a chain of suspicion. This is… the dark forest!”

After a moment of silence, Li Yao’s somewhat dimmed soul shone again as he said softly, “As I have said before, even if the universe is truly nothing more than a cold, dark forest, I will burn it to the ground with my soul as the fuel!”

“Excellent. I very much look forward to it. But it appears to me that you won’t have any help this time. You are destined to fight the war all by yourself.”

The bloody demon paused for a moment and smiled. “Just like Yan Xibei in the old days. An idealist who plans to change the world alone.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. It sounds so great and admirable. It’s a pity that Yan Xibei failed in the end. Let me see. Whom exactly was he defeated by in the end?”

Li Yao sniffed and realized what the mental devil was trying to say.

Fighting a world alone was doomed to be a lost cause.

Besides, it was not one but two worlds that he was going to fight right now.

However, the mental devil did not pursue any further aggressively. Instead, it sighed and retracted the eye-catching bloody mist, turning into a crimson statue.

Li Yao found it odd. “Are you not going to attack me?”

“Your belief is still firm at present,” the mental devil replied lazily. “Even if I keep on attacking you, it’s not like that I can wipe you out completely. Why should I waste my strength?”

“Wipe me out?”

Li Yao was startled by the mental devil’s choice of words.

“Exactly,” the mental devil replied casually. “From your point of view, I am just an insignificant mental devil, but from my point of view, I think that I am the real Li Yao, the one who has seen through the truth of the cold universe and the ideology of the dark forest.

“And you, you are nothing more than a mental devil that is enveloped in the decayed concepts of mercy, smugness, and hypocrisy.

“You are trying to wipe out the mental devil, and I am trying to wipe out the mental devil. Let’s see which of us wipes out the other in the end!”

While talking, clever brilliance suddenly beamed out of the eyes of the mental devil, who grinned and said, “In fact, I almost can’t bear to wipe you out so quickly. Why don’t we make a bet?

“I bet that there is no way that you will stop the final war between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector. The war will most certainly break out, with both worlds shattered, and will not stop until one world is completely ruined!

“Hehe. You should know what the ‘wager’ is, right?”

Li Yao was silent, not giving any response to the gamble game, because he knew that it was not something that he could refuse.

Accept it or not, the game had already begun.

He firmly claimed that he would find an approach to resolve the dilemma of the dark forest. It was his belief right now.

If he tried his best and still failed to stop the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector from perishing together, his belief would certainly be shaken.

By then, the mental devil would perform a full attack and occupy his body, and a ‘dark’ Li Yao would be born and establish a new reign in the two battered worlds.

“Excellent!”

Li Yao smiled. Either way, he had found a way to wipe out the mental devil.

“I’m going to wipe out the mental devil. I certainly will!”

The declaration resounded for a long time inside his brain. There was no telling whether it was said by Li Yao or by the mental devil in his head.

Right then, a flock of birds suddenly cackled and flew into the sky from the forest in the northeast. It could vaguely be felt that a stream of overwhelming demonic energy was sweeping close.

Jin Xinyue stopped the sword dance. She held her arms, and goosebumps were appearing on her smooth skin.

“Subordinates of Elder Nether Spring!”

After hiding in the Hundred Desolation Mountain for four days, Elder Nether Spring’s subordinates had finally caught up to them. This time, their scale was apparently much larger than previously. The demonic energy soared into the sky, and even the bloody moon seemed to be shaking.

Li Yao flew to the crown of a giant tree and sensed the situation carefully, only to discover that the demonic energy was all focused on the place where he trained himself during the day.

I must have caused too much havoc when my soul dived into the cells in pursuit of the primeval strength during the day, and they have detected the anomaly.

“Let’s go!”

Li Yao packed everything up in a hurry and fled further into the Hundred Desolation Mountain. While rushing in the forest, he asked, “With your understanding of Elder Nether Spring, who will he send now that the princes of the Nether Spring Kingdom have failed?”

“There are several experts under Elder Nether Spring’s command who are at the level of demon emperor. He has more than ten high-level demon kings, too, who are all adept at driving snakes, rats, and ants,” Jin Xinyue replied. “When such pests flood over the battlefield, one must retreat regardless of their expertise.

Chapter 856: Blood Moon Wolf Raiders

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“Besides, Elder Nether Spring has always been close friends with Elder Blood Robe, who has a lot of experts that are best at forest hunting and assassination. Chances are that Elder Nether Spring will ask for several specialists from Elder Blood Robe!”

Li Yao frowned. Elder Blood Robe had good reasons to hate him, too.

On Boneyard, Li Yao had slain Wang Ji, who was Elder Blood Robe’s disciple. The event had been publicized when Ding Lingdang and the rest of the team returned. While Li Yao was respected as a great hero of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, he must have made it to the top tier of the must-kill list in the Blood Demon Sector, too.

Wait. The important figures that he had killed previously seemed to include many other demons besides Wang Ji.

Li Yao remembered that it was the first time he put on an Ares Extension. He had gone on a killing spree at that time and blown dozens of expert demons into pieces within a breath.

Although those demons were merely demon generals, according to Li Yao’s intelligence, they had all been members of the royal families and the nobles of the Blood Demon Sector since they were qualified to explore Boneyard.

Therefore, it was possible that all the twelve demon emperors of the Blood Demon Sector hated his guts.

Li Yao immediately felt a serious headache coming on.

Will Elder Nether Spring send experts in the level of demon emperor to hunt Jin Xinyue?

Li Yao evaluated the capability of himself and his enemy quietly.

The Pantheon of Demons was governed by twelve demon emperors, but there were many more demon emperors in the Blood Demon Sector. Only the twelve strongest, most powerful demon emperors were qualified to manage the affairs of the Pantheon of Demons.

Elder Nether Spring was a high-level demon emperor, so there were a few low-level and middle-level demon emperors under his command.

As for the relationship between Elder Blood Robe and Elder Nether Spring, they were not simply good friends but in a very close, mutually beneficial relationship.

In the spare time over the past couple of days, Jin Xinyue had introduced the political spectrum of the Blood Demon Sector and the conflicts of the twelve demon emperors to Li Yao.

Jin Tuyi and Elder Nether Spring had conflicts not because they did not see eye to eye with each other and not only because of the post of the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of the demon race. Behind the open conflicts of the two demon emperors were different political lines and war ideologies.

The four superpowers of the Blood Demon Sector—namely the Gold Crow Kingdom, the Nether Spring Kingdom, the Kingdom of Lion Butchers, and the Sea Dominator Kingdom— represented the forces in the sky, underground, on the earth and in the ocean respectively.

Now that a final war against the Heaven’s Origin Sector was coming close, naturally, two entirely different methodologies of war were formulated.

The Kingdom of Lion Butchers, who governed the Claw Clan, and the Nether Spring Kingdom, which ruled over the Insect Clan, were the classical continentalism advocates who believed that whoever controlled the land controlled everything. Their strategy of war was simple, which was to devote all their resources to the land and push over the Heaven’s Origin Sector with oceans of insects and tides of beasts from the Grand Desolate Plateau.

The Gold Crow Kingdom and the Sea Dominator Kingdom, on the other hand, believed in the cooperation of the forces of the sky, the ocean, and the land. They believed that the infinite ocean and the sky, which was even more boundless than the continent, were the key to the victory of the war. Therefore, while the demon race maintained its pressure on human beings in the frontline of the Grand Desolate Plateau, it was necessary to open a second battlefield promptly and attack the Star Glory Federation from the ocean!

“To the east of the Star Glory Federation is a vast ocean where the Far East Demon Kingdom was located five hundred years ago.

“Although the Far East Demon Kingdom has been destroyed, the relics of the country are still buried deep down the ocean.

“Based on the relics, we could build secret military bases at the bottom of the ocean and push forward to the eastern coastline of the Star Glory Federation. When the timing is appropriate, we will lunge out of the undersea bases. The enormous fleet of the Sea Clan, together with the immense strength of the Feather Clan in the sky, will assault the heart of the Star Glory Federation unexpectedly!

“At the moment, the main military strength of the Star Glory Federation is concentrated in the frontline of the Giant Blade Pass, and the rear of the Star Glory Federation is extremely empty. If the assault is implemented, the army will certainly march forward unstoppably and even occupy the capital of the Star Glory Federation in the end!”

It was the strategy proposed by the Sea Clan and the Feather Clan.

In the past, the continentalism was chosen by the Blood Demon Sector because the strategy of the Sea Clan and the Feather Clan was deemed too risky and ridiculous.

The ‘Battle of Dawn’ was fought with such a political backstory. It was a traditional ground battle led by the Nether Spring Kingdom and the Kingdom of Lion Butchers.

But the result of the battle was not satisfactory. Although the insects and the beasts reached the Giant Blade Pass, the demon race suffered a brutal failure because of the overextended supply lines. In the end, it even caused the mutiny of the bottom-level soldiers, who raised the ‘Riot of Bloody Blade’ under the incitation of the Blade of Chaos. The fire of war did not consume the Heaven’s Origin Sector but burnt back to the Blood Demon Sector.

The insurrection caused a great earthquake in the center of politics of the Blood Demon Sector. The Sea Clan and the Feather Clan took the opportunity to lambast their dissidents. Many officers who believed in continentalism were sacked. Even the commander-in-chief nominated by the Nether Spring Kingdom and the Kingdom of Lion Butchers resigned. He was replaced by Jin Tuyi, a general who supported the strategy of the unification of the sky, the ocean, and the land.

Therefore, Elder Nether Spring and Elder Blood Robe were not simply friends but partners in the same interest group.

If Elder Nether Spring asked, Elder Blood Robe would certain lend a lot of specialists to him without caring about the cost.

With that in mind, expert in the level of demon emperor might have been sent, or even multiple of them.

Li Yao thought that, if he were Elder Nether Spring, since the demon king that was sent earlier had been killed, it would be killing his other demon kings if he sent more of them. Therefore, to make sure that the enemy was caught, one to two demon emperors would definitely be deployed to supervise the situation.

Li Yao’s real capability was similar to that of the middle level of the Nascent Soul Stage. With the modified Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, he could fight a high-level Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. Theoretically speaking, he was not scared of Elder Nether Spring.

However, in the Blood Demon Sector, it was impossible for him to summon the strength of a Cultivator blatantly.

If the Blood Demon Sector discovered that a Cultivator who had the capability of the Nascent Soul Stage was active in their central region, all the demons would be shocked and attack him collective.

If he was faced with a demon king, Li Yao could kill the enemy instantly with his body without resorting to his spiritual energy.

But it was not an easy task if he was faced with a demon emperor.

What he could utilize were the newborn primeval cells and the force that came with them.

However, he had just grasped the methods to activate the strengthened cells and awaken his primeval force. Although his absolute strength was in the level of demon emperor, he was not good at using it.

Li Yao was indeed a genius, but he was not a god. If he could fight evenly against a demon emperor who had trained hard for decades and even hundreds of years when he had just activated his primeval cells, his enemy might die of embarrassment.

Therefore, Li Yao estimated that, without exposing his real capability, it was already his limit to kill a demon king instantly with a neatly-devised trap.

If he ran into a beginning-level demon emperor, neither of them would be able to defeat the other. It would be impossible for him to kill the opponent quickly.

Besides, his opponent boasted the ultimate weapon named ‘biochemical beast’, while Li Yao’s crystal suit had to be kept a secret.

Li Yao had no choice but to drag Jin Xinyue to run away.

Very soon, a cluster of black smoke passed by their heads. It was a swarm of insects that was squeaking in blood-freezing noises.

Li Yao frowned. Insect oceans and beast tides were his least favorite enemies.

“Hoooo! Hoooo!”

Lengthy howls were echoing in the forest near and afar, getting creepier and creepier under the bloody moon.

Jin Xinyue paled and said in a low voice, “Judging from the sound, they seem to be the ‘Blood Moon Wolf Raiders’ of the Kingdom of Lion Butchers. Their olfactory cells have been specially strengthened and are hundreds of times more acute than those of sharks, allowing them to smell the tiniest smell several square kilometers near them. Their special howls can transmit a lot of information to their companions through supersonic waves unperceivable to normal people!

“The Blood Moon Wolf Raiders are the top-tier tracing experts of the Blood Demon Sector. I did not expect that Elder Nether Spring had borrowed such elite troops from Elder Blood Robe!”

Li Yao nodded, but he felt that something was off.

The demonic energy soaring to the sky condensed into an impregnable web in midair.

The dense insects were gnawing the leaves of the trees all the way from northeast, while the howls of the Blood Moon Wolf Raiders were pushing close from northwest.

There were no signals of hunters in the southeast, but noises of trees cracking apart drifted over, suggesting that something huge was charging their way.

Li Yao and Jin Xinyue could only flee to the southwest. However, the direction was filled with venomous gas and swamps, and there was no telling whether or not stronger pursuers were lurking.

The siege of the enemy grew smaller and smaller. Li Yao even saw green eyes shining through the gaps of the trees many times.

Thankfully, both Jin Xinyue and him and sealed their pores and smeared a lot of powder that covered their smell. Therefore, their traces were lost for now, but it was hard to say how long before the enemy found them again.

“In a moment, I’ll go there and fight them first. Don’t take action unless it is absolutely necessary, in case they find out that you have turned into a human being,” Li Yao said to Jin Xinyue in a low voice.

He had found out that a brutal battle was inevitable.

Jin Xinyue pondered for a moment and nodded. This was not a good time for adulation. She might as well do what she was asked to.

For some reason, Jin Xinyue was confident that the old monster must be invincible.

Li Yao smiled coldly. He licked his teeth and unsheathed a sharp bone dagger that was tied up by dozens of tensile mica threads.

Waiting had never been his style. Now that he was determined to fight, of course, he was going to take the initiative!

Right then, an abrupt change took place.

The howls in the northwest became more and more hasty and loud, as if the Wolf Raiders had discovered a lot of enemies.

Hiu! Hiu! Hiu! Hiu!

Shrieks pierced through the clouds from the sky in the southwest.

Li Yao could not have been more familiar with the sound. Somebody had broken the sonic barrier!

Judging from the sound, it was not one object but a whole long of them!

The bloody sky in the northwest was scarred by dozens of streaks of golden brightness.

Jin Xinyue’s eyes beamed with joy. She almost cried in ecstasy. “Reinforcements of the Gold Crow Kingdom!”

Chapter 857: Just Roar, the Primeval Force!

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

The Feather Clan of the Gold Crow Kingdom was best known for their speed. Li Yao and Jin Xinyue had only just heard their sound when the golden brightness covered almost half of the sky and crashed into the cloud of insects that was coming at them. For a moment, blood was spluttering, and yells were echoing nonstop.

A heated battled was on. Blood ran like a river, and countless insects were burnt and fell from the sky like raindrops.

Another team of the Feather Clan left the battle formation and circled above the forest, while they shrieked loudly, “Where are you, First Princess?”

Jin Xinyue was overjoyed and climbed on a tree, but before she opened her mouth to call her saviors, Li Yao had covered her mouth and dragged her back to the depths of the obscure forest!

“Hurry up and run!”

Li Yao gnashed his teeth, with cold sweat all over his forehead. He ran crazily inside the forest together with Jin Xinyue until they were more than ten kilometers away. He caught his breath and said, breathing hard, “Did you not notice anything wrong? If Elder Nether Spring really had a secret, he would never have asked Elder Blood Robe for reinforcements! Was he not scared that his secret was exposed?

“Alright. Let’s say that Elder Nether Spring and Elder Blood Robe are wearing the same pants and have known each other’s secrets for a long time, but isn’t it too much of a coincidence that reinforcements of the Gold Crow Kingdom came just in time?

“I don’t like coincidences. Not at all!

“Besides, the Blood Demon Sector is faced with a great war right now. The four superpowers are all allies on the surface. It is one thing to hunt a certain someone down in secret, but it is a whole other thing if they are engaged in an open, head-on confrontation!

“The reinforcements of the Gold Crow Kingdom attacked Elder Nether Spring’s subordinates the moment they showed up. It doesn’t make sense to me at all!”

Jin Xinyue was not stupid, either, or she would not have been selected as a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons. She knew the demon race better than Li Yao did. After hearing Li Yao’s words, she immediately cursed, “Damn! They seem to be on the same side!”

The moment she raised her suspicion, dozens of explosions burst out right above their heads. Bright golden ripples spread out in the sky and slowly condensed into weird rune arrays from which countless streaks of brightness leapt out. However, the newcomers did not seem to be solid and maintained an appearance bordering on transparency. Even their demonic energy had been restricted to the minimum.

Had Li Yao not calmed down and perceived them on purpose, he would not have been able to notice them at all.

“Mirage Falcons!”

Jin Xinyue’s voice was full of desperation.

Mirage Falcons were powerful biochemical beasts bred by the Gold Crow Kingdom. The wingspan of every Mirage Falcon was more than fifty meters, and they all weighed more than twenty times. Their cruising speed was 2.5 times the speed of sound while their highest speed could surpass seven times the sonic speed. They were able to climb up five hundred meters vertically in less than one minute. They could even fight briefly in the orbit of a planet outside of the atmosphere. Their specifications were not only much better than those of the armed shuttles of the Star Glory Federation but also tantalizing for most crystal suits.

What was more terrifying was that the feathers of the Mirage Falcons were covered in a special greasy membrane that could avoid the detection of spiritual energy. The birds had also practiced the demonic arts for camouflage and mimesis, which made it impossible for the enemy to keep track of them. They were truly invisible demon beasts and well deserved their name ‘Mirage’.

The wings of the Mirage Falcons, when unfolded, boasted some specially refined feathers that were not only extremely hard but also mixed with acids, venomous liquids, or unsteady crystals. Such weapons could be shot out rapidly by the violent constriction of the muscles, and their speed could surpass the speed of sound, too. The fierce firepower of the Mirage Falcons was definitely no worse than that of the crystal railguns and crystals cannons of the Cultivators.

Besides, the elite troops of the Gold Crow Kingdom would often equip the ferocious beasts with the crystal cannons that they captured during battle, making them able to carry out the attack abilities of both the demon race and mankind!

Hiu! Hiu! Hiu! Hiu!

A hundred fiery snakes suddenly dispersed in the sky and whipped down brutally, leaving deep ravines inside the forest.

Those fiery snakes were all made of the feathers of the Mirage Falcons.

After every feather was pierced into the trunk of a tree, the tree would immediately be set on fire, burning at a speed far higher than normal flames would. All the trees were charcoal within a moment.

The trees deep inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain had grown for thousands of years and were harder than rocks, but even they could not resist the bombardment of the fiery feathers. It was not hard to guess what would happen to a body made of flesh and blood if it was hit by such feathers.

The location where Li Yao and Jin Xinyue had originally been was drowned in an ocean of flames.

The ocean of flames spread out as if it were a spring. The birds were particularly concentrated near the route of Li Yao and Jin Xinyue’s escape.

Li Yao and Jin Xinyue found it hard to raise their heads because of the barrage.

Right then, an enormous Mirage Falcon finally revealed its real appearance in the sky.

Even Li Yao gasped at its hideousness.

It seemed more fitting to call the Mirage Falcons combinations of pterodactyls that had grown feathers and hawks than to call them birds.

Its head was almost ten meters long and could be extended or retreated free at will. When the beast was cruising at a supersonic speed, its head would hide in its body so that its body would be perfectly streamlined like a water drop.

However, right now, it was hovering in midair at a low speed, and it stretched its neck out like a snake. The ten or so crimson lumps that grew on the neck all expanded slowly, emitting translucent, orange brightness.

“What is it doing right now?”

Li Yao had no idea why the Mirage Falcon quitted the stealth mode and why it was stretching its neck in midair like a crowing cock.

But Jin Xinyue exclaimed as if she had run into a ghost and quickly ran away, covering her head with her hands.

Li Yao had an ominous feeling. The neck of the Mirage Falcon had been extended to the limit. Then, it suddenly shortened, like the barrel of cannon moving backwards because of the reoil. A cluster of brilliant red crystals spurted out its mouth and exploded in the sky, bombarding the entire forest like meteorites.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

For a moment, the earth was shaking as if dozens of volcanoes were erupting at the same time. Tusks formed of magma rose up from the ground, and the surrounding five hundred meters was all wreathed in fire. The blast, along with the hot waves, even reached a thousand meters away!

Thankfully, the enemy did not lock onto Li Yao and Jin Xinyue when performing the attack, and the landing point of the attack was to their east.

Even so, the two of them found it hard to keep stable in the overwhelming blast. They collapsed to the ground and did not come back to themselves for a long time.

“Cough cough. Cough cough cough cough. They are getting serious!”

Brutality beamed out of Jin Xinyue’s eyes as she gnashed her teeth. “This is ‘Fiery Shooting Star’, the ultimate attack of the Mirage Falcons. The genes of the Mirage Falcons are all edited specially so that they can digest marrow crystals of the fire class that will then be kept in their craws. After a long time of purification, they will become natural marrow crystals bombs!

“However, the capacity of the craws of a Mirage Falcon is limited. Also, triggering the marrow crystals will damage their body, too. Therefore, such terrifying methods are not resorted to unless it is absolutely necessary!

“I didn’t know that they were so determined to deal with me!”

Li Yao spat a thick glob of phlegm that was mixed with blood. His eyes, which were narrowed like the edges of two blades, were filled with killing intent as he observed, “Therefore, it is confirmed now that you have been abandoned by the Gold Crow Kingdom!”

Although the blast dealt no significant damages, it had blown away the powder on their body, which helped to disperse their smell. The bloody phlegm that Li Yao had spat out was quite pungent, too. The Blood Moon Wolf Raiders immediately detected them.

“Hoooo! Hoooo!”

The prolonged howls were like death sentences.

Very soon, almost a hundred obscure shadows appeared in the burning forest behind then. They seemed to be extremely powerful wolves with objects that looked like human beings on their back.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The Blood Moon Wolf Raiders locked onto their targets with their smell quickly. However, the human-like creatures on their back rose up and moved forward like lightning being attracted the branches of the trees. They were even faster than the wolves!

“Eight-Armed Demonic Apes!” Jin Xinyue’s face was pale. “They are the real experts of jungle combat in the Kingdom of Lion Butchers. Nobody is willing to deal with the wretched monkeys in a forest!”

“You go first, and I’ll stall them. We’ll meet later in the waterfall in the southwest!”

Li Yao did not expect that the enemy would value Jin Xinyue so much, but their reaction only suggested that the secret inside Jin Xinyue was precious.

Naturally, Li Yao would not let Pantheon of Demons take back such a secret easily.

Jin Xinyue pondered for a moment and nodded her head, instantly vanishing into the forest.

Li Yao had put a Child-Mother Heart Connecting Ring on her ankle, which could allow him to detect where she was. Therefore, he was not worried that she might run away.

“Let’s do this!”

Faced with incoming enemies from all directions, Li Yao felt like his blood was boiling. He extended his left arm, and the primeval cells inside his body expanded to the maximum, bordering on explosion.

“In your strongest form, burst out all the primeval force!” Li Yao bellowed. He felt that his flesh was torn apart, and a primitive, barbaric strength was flooding out from the depths of his left arm. Scents of desolation circled around his left arm, making it cramp and expand, until in the end, his left hand turned into…

A hoof.

Gazing at his left hand, which was now a hoof, Li Yao was at a loss for a long time.

Gritting his teeth, he did it again. Just come on, the primeval force!

He summoned his spiritual energy, and his mitochondria was activated to the maximum. The hoof on his left arm was gone, only to be replaced by… a flipper with membranes among fingers that looked like a duck foot.

“…” Li Yao.

Deep inside his brain, the mental devil was secretly chuckling. It seemed to be trying to hold back its laughter so hard that its head was purple.

“Asshole!” Li Yao was mad. “Was this your trick?”

“You can’t be serious, right? Are you blaming this on me?” The mental devil floated inside his brain comfortably and replied with smile, “Dear brother of mine, do you know that, of the billions of ancestors of human beings, 99% are herbivores or feed on microorganisms? In short, they are absolutely useless at fighting.

“You don’t know the mysteries of the genes at all, and you want to activate the feature of a strong ancestor by stimulating your primeval cells randomly?

“To be honest, you were already unbelievably lucky to have gotten a hoof and a flipper. If you were not, it would not have been unusual if your left arm had crumbled. Why else do you think that Cultivators from the past to modern day have hardly practiced such arts?”

Li Yao was rendered speechless. He was silent for a moment before he said, “Didn’t I activate an awesome claw when I stimulated the primeval cells for the first time?”

The mental devil looked at him with derision and yawned lazily.

Li Yao thought of something and immediately realized it. “You were helping me, weren’t you?”

Chapter 858: Terrifying Primeval Appearance

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

The mental devil snorted in acknowledgement, raising its head in pride.

“Then what are you doing right now?” Li Yao demanded.

“Nothing,” the mental devil replied lazily. “After our discussion a moment ago, I feel that you are right and reasonable. Your words were such a great enlightenment to me! Yes, killing is not going to solve any problems. That’s especially so given that human beings and demons might be brothers of the same origin who should live in peace. How can they attack each other?

“Therefore, now that so many of your ‘brothers’ are rushing toward you passionately, why don’t you explain the ultimate truth of ‘peaceful coexistence’ with your deft tongue?”

Li Yao did not have the chance to curse before a highly-heated bullet swooshed past by his head and blew a giant tree in front of his face to smithereens.

The stinky smell of his hair being burnt immediately spread out.

More than ten Eight-Armed Demonic Apes grinned hideously. They were less than a hundred meters away from him now.

Every Eight-Armed Demonic Ape had four extremely long arms that extended from their shoulder blades. They also had two abnormal arms on their back whose joints could be switched to any direction.

Most of the time, they jumped among branches in predictable angles and at an amazingly high speed with their feet, the short limbs on the back, and their long tail.

The four arms that were spared carried a lot of heavy magical equipment. One Eight-Armed Demonic Ape was enough to blow out immense firepower. Right now, the dozen Eight-Armed Demonic Apes were opening fire at the same time. The web of fire was impenetrable and left a wasteland inside the forest.

The situation would have been less tricky if there were only Eight-Armed Demonic Apes, but behind the Eight-Armed Demonic Apes were the Blood Moon Wolf Raiders. Moreover, the humming sounds of the Mirage Falcons tearing apart the air could be heard from the sky, too.

The thousands of demons present could exhaust Li Yao with their sheer number.

Li Yao spat, turned around, and ran away!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The crimson feathers in the halo of demonic energy exploded right below his feet, turning mud into magma instantly, which left bloody holes on his skin. He was grimacing in pain, his veins bulging.

“Therefore—”

The mental devil smiled. “Killing is necessary on certain occasions, and it is helpful for the solution of some minor problems, isn’t it? As for me, the sleazy, evil, and brutal mental devil, I might be of some use after all, right?”

“…” Li Yao.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes if you don’t want to say anything.”

“…” Li Yao.

The mental devil laughed and stretched out its arms. “Very good. We have finally reached a preliminary consensus. Now then—”

Deep inside Li Yao’s brain, the mental devil suddenly expanded, its redness turning Li Yao’s brain into a land of blood. His left eye shuddered abruptly, and his pupil expanded like a blossoming flower. Bloody streaks rippled out of the deepest part of his eye and rotated, transforming his left eye into a bloody swirl!

Li Yao came to an abrupt halt while fleeing. His left arm straightened out. Explosive noises burst out in the deepest part of his bones. His every pore was spurting out thick, red gas nonstop that seemed to be the smoke of incense!

Covered in the bloody air, Li Yao’s skin was now a golden color, with silver liquids being secreted from his pores. Very soon, the silver liquids consolidated into a glamorous armor. The cells on his elbow reproduced and ossified crazily until his elbow turned into a high-rising bone blade that looked like the fin of a shark. His five fingers were enveloped in the neat, silver armor, too, which significantly increased their hardness and defensive ability without reducing their agility at all. The front ends of his fingers grew sharp claws resembling those of dinosaurs and tigers. After a slight shake, the sound of air being torn apart could already be heard.

He felt that his palm was itching. Then, a half-round pearl which looked like a red crystal protruded out of the center of his palm. Deep red streaks were swimming delightfully like fish inside the pearl.

“Hu…”

Li Yao could not help but shiver and moan in great satisfaction. His body was like a volcano that was spurting out the most furious magma after billions of years of dormancy!

The enhancement of his body was already gratifying enough, and the improvement of his senses and his brain gave him a feeling that he had been reborn!

Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!

In the moment, his eyes, ears, and nose felt incredibly refreshed. The lights, the soundwaves, and all kinds of particles were mixed together.

The rattling noise of the tree leaves, the faint body scent of the enemies, and the ever-changing shadows in the forest… All that information and more collided brutally inside Li Yao’s brain, breaking into tiny, golden fragments before they were reconstructed into virtual battlefields.

Everything inside the virtual battlefields was under Li Yao’s control. He knew the position and the route of attack of every enemy and had even begun to analyze the capability of the enemy with their movement speed and breathing frequency.

Shua! Shua! Shua!

The battlefields continued increasing, changing from one to two, to four, to eight, to sixteen, to thirty-two, to sixty-four!

The sixty-four virtual battlefields were running at the same time, precisely simulating the potential changes of the situation after he adopted sixty-four different tactics so that he could select the best tactical option.

My computational ability has significantly improved again!

Despite the excruciating pain in his brain, it was a pleasant surprise for Li Yao.

Ever since he advanced into the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage, his computational ability had remained stagnant. He had thought that it was the ceiling of the Core Formation Stage and did not expect that he would break the barrier at this moment!

After perceiving his brain cells in 0.01 seconds, he immediately realized that his soaring computation ability boiled down to the vastly changed brain cells.

Brain cells were among the most mysterious cells in a human body, and their greatest feature was that they were undividable and uncopiable.

Most of the cells in a human body, such as the liver and muscles, could divide and reproduced. One could stimulate the cells with their spiritual energy in training to speed up the division and reproduction. The weak, old cells withered, but stronger, new cells were born and replaced them.

Brain cells differed to other cells in that they could not be divided or reproduced.

The number of brain cells was fixed the moment one was born, which was approximately fourteen billion and would dwindle as one’s life went on.

Starting from their twenties, the brain cells of every adult would reduce by around a hundred thousand until they died.

If their parents were both Cultivators, and their bloodline was stronger, it was possible that the number of their brain cells would be larger when they were born—say, it could be more than twenty billion. But correspondingly, after their spiritual root was awakened and they embarked on the path of Cultivation, they would burn their soul every once in a while, which meant that the consumption rate of their brain cells was multiple times higher than that of ordinary people, too.

It was also the biggest factor that limited the longevity of the Cultivators.

It was true that Cultivators could train their body until it was as hard as steel. They were not scared of fire or flood, and they were immune to most diseases.

For the stronger Cultivators, they could even suppress cancer cells with their own strength!

However, even if a Cultivator was never engaged in combat and attached great importance to body fitness, their body might be as healthy and strong as a young person, but their withering brain cells were irreversible.

In the end, because of the fatigue of their brain cells, they might succumb to brain death even though their body was immaculate!

But right now, Li Yao had discovered that, when part of his brain cells activated the primeval state through atavism, they began to boast abilities, however feeble, of division and reproduction.

While his original brain cells were withering, new brain cells were being produced incessantly!

Li Yao was overjoyed by his findings.

“This is the ultimate form that I can build right now!” There was pride and expectation in the mental devil’s voice. “The enhancement that the Blood Stripe Virus performed on living creatures is just based on their natural instincts. They do not have systematic theories. Therefore, the secret arts of training of the demon race are indeed of tremendous help for us!

“I have activated 1,354 segments of your recessive genes with the gene map that Jin Xinyue provided, allowing you to display the features of seventeen ferocious beasts!

“Right now, you are ten times stronger than Yan Xibei was!

“The preliminary gene maps are already enough to activate such terrifying combat ability. If we manage to get the most sophisticated gene maps inside the Pantheon of Demons, we will certainly be able to produce the strongest apocalyptic body ever! Haha. Hahahaha!”

“Can you please not laugh so bloodthirstily?” requested Li Yao.

“Not a problem.” The mental devil immediately regained its previous calmness and said mildly, “I can even remove all the ‘bloodthirsty’, ‘evil’ strength and stop them from ‘corrupting’ your body so that you are talk about your noble ideals of ‘peaceful coexistence’ with your brother demons. How does that sound?”

“I said nothing!”

Shua!

Li Yao’s feet stomped on a branch heavily, and the thick, tensile branch sprung Li Yao to the Eight-Armed Demonic Apes like a spring.

The Eight-Armed Demonic Apes did not expect that he would be bold enough to counterattack. They were all slightly dazed, but they soon roared and lunged at their enemy, waving their bone blades and chainswords.

After his computational ability broke the limits, Li Yao felt that he was placed in the middle of thick glue. Time slowed, and the ruthless-looking, crazily-yelling Eight-Armed Demonic Apes all turned into slow sloths for him.

Li Yao dodged between the bullets, lasers, acid, and venomous liquids that they spurted out unhurriedly. Their blades and firearms seemed to have turned into slates and steps for him on which he was dancing a dance of lightning. All the weapons that were touched by the tip of his feet slightly altered their direction.

As a result, the blades of the Eight-Armed Demonic Apes kissed their companions, and the bullets and acid all hit their teammates nearby precisely in the head, too. Sparks of blood were spluttering everywhere. A bloody mist seemed to be rising inside the obscure forest!

Hooo!

Before the dead bodies of the Eight-Armed Demonic Apes fell to the ground, dozens of streaks of whiteness lunged close. Their body size expanded while they were still in midair. Their pure white fur was ripped apart, revealing the tattoos that looked like bloody crescent moons!

The Blood Moon Wolf Raiders in their ultimate form were more like combinations of wolves and bears than just wolves. They were almost five meters tall when they stood up, and they gazed at Li Yao with their eyes that looked like two orange lanterns!

Chapter 859: Cell Obliterating Cannon!

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

However, what they had locked onto was nothing but Li Yao’s blurred shadow, which was also mixed with intense demonic energy and gave everything the feeling that it was the real entity.

It was not until their sharp claws ripped the blurred shadow apart, turning it into almost transparent air currents, that the Blood Moon Wolf Raiders realized that something was not right.

But there was no time!

The Blood Moon Wolf Raider at the back of the team screamed in pain as his chest exploded like a blossoming flower. A bloody shadow dashed out of the beast’s chest, covered entirely in the wolf blood, which made his scent no different from that of other Blood Moon Wolf Raiders.

“Hooooo!”

The Blood Moon Wolf Raider next to him snatched at the bloody shadow, the sharp claws tearing apart the air and breaking the sonic barrier, and held Li Yao’s left hand hard.

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!

The bone blade on Li Yao’s elbow oscillated at a frequency higher than ten thousand times per second. The force of the vibration was transmitted to Li Yao’s palm and then flooded into the enemy’s arm.

Pu!

The entire left arm of the Blood Moon Wolf Raider, because of the intense vibration, exploded into a cluster of bloody mist!

Before he had the chance to scream, Li Yao had already kicked him into midair.

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!

In the sky, the swarm of insects that looked like a colorful yet venomous cloud finally arrived.

The insects were like extremely corrosive water. Wherever they landed, they would consume the tree leaves together with the branches, leaving absolutely nothing.

They were known as ‘Floral Locusts’, whose mouthparts could secrete a huge amount of corrosive liquids, allowing them to corrode their preys into mush before they enjoyed their meal. Such liquid was so destructive that even Cultivators in crystal suits might hesitate to get in touch with them.

The heavily wounded Blood Moon Wolf Raider happened to be kicked into the swarm of Floral Locusts.

The Floral Locusts were bloodthirsty and yet very unintelligent. How could the Blood Moon Wolf Raider, who was soaked in blood because of the broken left arm, get away from them?

The Floral Locusts surrounded the beast as if he were wearing a thick garment of insects. The miserable scream only lasted half a second, before it was replaced by weird, chewing noises.

A moment later, bones that were riddled with holes fell off from the group of insects one after another.

Despite the brutality and ruthlessness of the Blood Moon Wolf Raiders, they all secretly clicked their tongues. They might not have been afraid of death, but such a shocking way of death was enough to make the boldest of them hesitate.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

Li Yao certainly would not let go of such a great opportunity. His bloody shadow dashed between the Blood Moon Wolf Raiders, and none of them could resist any of his attacks. They all ended up being kicked into the sky after one of the limbs was broken. The flying Floral Locusts in the sky refused none of them and turned all the heavily wounded Blood Moon Wolf Raiders into piles of bones.

Higher in the sky, dozens of Mirage Falcons were still hovering stealthily, with their feathers that were almost transparent rising and falling, which kept them in the supersonic state although their range of activity was less than a thousand square meters. Fierce wind was blowing in the middle of the birds.

On the center of the Mirage Falcons, the feathers slightly rose up, and, together with the collapsed muscles on the back, constituted a natural cockpit in which two members of the Feather Clan, one in the front and the other in the back, were sitting.

Their brains were connected to the brain of the Mirage Falcon with the tensile nerve tracts.

Inside the cockpit of a Mirage Falcon whose feathers were particularly glamorous and was exceptionally large, a demon with an eagle head, a human body, and purple and blue wings was observing the situation of the battle with the eyes of the Mirage Falcon, sneering every once in a while.

“Young master.”

His co-pilot sitting behind him who was in charge of the attack and the defense of the Mirage Falcon asked, somewhat worriedly, “Forces of the Kingdom of Lion Butchers and the Nether Spring Kingdom seem to be unable to hold it any longer. Shall we give them a hand?”

“I didn’t know that I still underestimated the b*tch’s capability.”

The demon who was addressed as ‘young master’ chuckled and said casually, “We have removed all her loyal subordinates in the Gold Crow Kingdom. I thought that she would be a sure catch. I didn’t know that she had other arrangements. She has somehow hired such an intimidating expert to help her.

“Judging from his appearance, it is very likely that the expert is in the beginning level of the demon emperor state. No wonder even Yuan Hao of the Nether Spring Kingdom was killed by him and the b*tch.

“The b*tch has indeed got something with her, but I wonder, how did she convince such an expert to fight for her?

“However, there is no need for us to do anything. They’re all from the Kingdom of Lion Butchers and the Nether Spring Kingdom anyway. What’s the problem if some of them are accidentally killed? Let’s just wait and watch!”

Almost immediately after the ‘young master’ finished his remarks, another bloody, heavily wounded Blood Moon Wolf Raider was kicked high into the sky again. But this time, the trajectory of the animal was different from the previous times. It was not directly kicked into the swarm of Floral Locusts but toward a higher place, which was closer to the Mirage Falcons.

Before the Floral Locusts flew upwards to catch the new prey, a shadow suddenly jumped from behind the Blood Moon Wolf Raider and stomped on the body of the beast hard!

The heavy stomping split the Blood Moon Wolf Raider and blew it into smithereens immediately!

The bloody shadow, with the counterforce, surpassed the speed of sound instantly!

“Not good!”

The dark green eyeballs of the ‘young master’ were immediately covered in a layer of transparent sclerotic bone from which sharp brilliance was beaming out!

Right above the bloody shadow that was soaring up, three Mirage Falcons happened to be diving down rapidly. When their relative speeds were combined, there was no way that either party could avoid the clash.

The Mirage Falcons reacted promptly enough. They shot out almost a hundred fiery feathers within the moment. However, the bloody shadow flashed past all of them with unbelievable body-moving techniques. Right when the two parties passed by each other, he grabbed the feathers of one Mirage Falcon and climbed on the back of the bird!

Hiu!

The Mirage Falcon shrieked aloud while spinning, diving, and sprinting at a speed more than three times the speed of sound, trying to throw the enemy off with the centrifugal force and the friction.

At three times the speed of sound, the softest breeze turned into the sharpest blade.

Li Yao gritted his teeth and clutched the feathers of the Mirage Falcon, while streams of brightness flashed on his right arm and pierced toward the wings of the Mirage Falcon silently.

Li Yao’s ‘Mono Mica Threads’ were extremely thin, tensile, and sharp threads of the mica that were refined based on the mustard-seed technology.

When they were used cut the hardest diamonds and obsidians, the highest accuracy could always be maintained without leaving any powder.

Strong as the Mirage Falcon might have been, its body was made of flesh and blood after all. How could it withstand his cutting?

Shua!

Almost ten Mono Mica Threads dissected the wing on one side of the Mirage Falcon like the sharpest scalpels.

Losing one wing mid supersonic flight, the Mirage Falcon immediately lost balance and fell to the ground, spinning and almost hitting some ten Mirage Falcons that were near.

Li Yao took the opportunity when their distance was shortest and jumped to the back of another Mirage Falcon. Then he did exactly the same thing on the second victim.

The Mirage Falcons were immediately thrown into chaos. In such a mess, they were not able to keep their ‘stealth mode’ any longer.

Gotcha!

Li Yao had his eyes on the most magnificent Mirage Falcon.

While most of the Mirage Falcons were in a flurry, it was the only one that remained calm. There must have been an expert commanding the animal!

To catch bandits, first catch the ringleader. The decapitation strategy had always been Li Yao’s favorite!

Li Yao roared and lunged at the most magnificent Mirage Falcon.

“Idiot!”

The young master of the Feather Clan scoffed. With a telepathic thought, his will was transmitted to the brain of the Mirage Falcon like lightning.

The Mirage Falcon flapped its wings hard. Almost a thousand feathers spurted out and interweaved into a furious hurricane that swept toward Li Yao overwhelmingly.

Li Yao was going to dodge the attack when he suddenly felt the air around him become as hard as rock. More than ten Mirage Falcons were hovering around him rapidly and waving their wings hard, triggering air turbulences that locked him like countless shackles!

BOOM!

It took Li Yao 0.1 seconds to get out of the air turbulences. But in that tenth of a second, the hurricane of fiery feathers arrived, too, hitting Li Yao precisely in the head. Li Yao was wreathed in flames and fell to the ground like a shooting star.

“Fighting the Feather Clan in the sky. You really wanted to get killed!”

The young master of the Feather Clan grinned hideously. The remaining Mirage Falcons exited stealth mode simultaneously. Their necks, which were covered in wrinkles, were extended to the limits, and their craws gradually expanded, revealing a dangerously red color. The marrow crystals inside the craws were being activated in preparation for ‘Fiery Shooting Stars’, the ultimate attack of the Mirage Falcons!

“Even if you are a low-level demon emperor, you are cannot resist the simultaneous bombardment of more than ten waves of Fiery Shooting Stars!”

What the young master of the Feather Clan did not see was that, deep inside the half-burnt forest, Li Yao was on one of his knees, his body still on fire, but he raised his left arm high toward the sky with his fingers wide open. The half-round crystal in the center of his palm was giving out enticing brilliance!

Countless cells inside the left arm were shivering crazily, and the mitochondria inside all the cells were functioning at the highest efficiency, generating immense energy that congregated in the center of the palm.

The energy was so furious that his left arm was trembling. Even the solid shells were being torn apart, making scattered bloody mist burst out. Li Yao had to hold his left wrist with his right hand hard in order to lock onto the target precisely.

The arc-like crystal in the center of the palm of the left hand was once a special battle organ that the ancestors of human beings billions of years ago evolved with in order to fight against nature.

It was similar to the crystalline lens inside the eye, except that it was much more precise and tensile. It also boasted multiple layers of reflection and congregation functionalities.

The mitochondria were the energy providers in the cells, which powered up the bodies of living creatures.

Generally speaking, the mitochondria’s release of energy was stable and mild. However, how immense would the generated energy be if the mitochondria inside billions of cells was to burst out at the same time?

Ordinary people usually had fifty to six trillion cells inside their body, and Cultivators could even have more than a hundred trillion cells.

What Li Yao was doing right now was burning up a hundred billion of his cells immediately and focusing the energy that the cells released on one point with the crystal inside his palm, shooting it out!

It was one of the brand-new techniques that he unlocked from deep inside his genes—

“A hundred billion times! Super crystal! Cell Obliterating Cannon!”

Chapter 860: Red Tide Plan Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

 

Shua!

Li Yao’s left arm shrank rapidly at a visible speed. A cluster of red brilliance rushed out of the super crystal at the center of his palm toward a Mirage Falcon that he had locked onto since long ago at a speed more than five times the speed of sound!

The Mirage Falcons were in their most vulnerable state when they launched the ‘Fiery Shooting Stars’. Their necks that were extended to the maximum ruined their streamlined body, making them unable to keep cruising at a supersonic speed. The demonic energy that they released continuously made them even more obvious targets than they should have been, too!

Li Yao chose the perfect moment to attack, which was when the marrow crystals inside the craws of the Mirage Falcons were about to enter the most heated state. A hundred billion cells were obliterated and turned into the purest energy, which congregated into the cluster of red brilliance through the reflections and refractions of the super crystal. The attack hit the head of the Mirage Falcon precisely, leading to a chain reaction in the marrow crystals inside its crawl and detonating the next wave of the ‘Fiery Shooting Stars’!

“Not good!”

Every feather on the face of the young master of the Feather Clan stood up, making his head three times as large. He shrieked loudly and aborted the attack of the Fiery Shooting Stars in time, soaring up with the Mirage Falcon!

However, not all his teammates were as adept at reining a biochemical beast as he was.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

After a series of thunderous explosions, the sky immediately turned into a surging ocean of flames, which raised tides hundreds of meters high. Most of the Mirage Falcons were consumed. A storm of fiery drops rained down and covered dozens of square kilometers nearby!

However, other than Li Yao, there were a lot of hunters of the demon race who were chasing after him, too.

For a moment, the fire was burning furiously, and screams were echoing nonstop. The forest had turned into a living inferno where countless demons were struggling miserably in the intense flames. They were riddled with holes by the scorching, shooting magma and turned into burnt, black bones while they were shuddering in pain!

Although the young master of the Feather Clan soared up to the sky one step in advance, he was still lightheaded because of the blast. It was not until three seconds later that he finally came back to himself despite his expertise as a demon emperor.

When he watched the troop of Mirage Falcons, which had been what he was most proud of, screaming and shrieking in the flames, turning into roasted, bare turkeys, every feather that was standing up on his face turned into the reddest color imaginable.

“Btch! You filthy btch, Jin Xinyue!

“Who is this monster that you have found? Who is he exactly?”

Right now, the ‘monster’, according to the young master of the Feather Clan, was fleeing quickly inside the forest. The fire and the magma became his best cover.

Under the scourge of the overwhelming Fiery Shooting Stars, most of the hunters of the demon race were killed or wounded. It would take them at least half a day before they could regroup again.

Li Yao felt that his head was dizzy, and golden swirls were popping up in front of his eyes. Although his left arm had regained its normal appearance, it was still dangling down from his shoulder limply..

He even vaguely felt as if his entire right left was now soaked in scorching magma and about to be melted. It was about to be ignited and would be burning from inside to outside.

The deepest strength of the cells is truly dreadful, drastic, and unsteady!

Li Yao was very clear that it was a lucky incident. He had inherited part of the abilities of the Blood Stripe Virus, whose natural instincts were to control and modify genes. It was why he could manage, however unstably, the ‘primeval cells’ that were just activated.

If it were a different Cultivator, even if they were in the Nascent Soul Stage, unlocking the strength of genes so recklessly would have destroyed their cells and turned them into a pool of pus. When the mitochondria provided excessive energy, it was also possible that their body would burn.

Li Yao quickly thought of something. He had read in many ancient training notes that a lot of high-level Cultivators were killed in weird flames that started burning from the inside of their body without a good reason.

At first, it was believed that those Cultivators were assassinated by their enemies, or they were poisoned in a special way.

However, such cases had happened in various sects of various Sectors over thousands of years. The cause of death was always the same, but there was no trace of poison at all despite the scrutiny. It then became one of the greatest mysteries for the ancient Cultivators known as ‘Spontaneous Human Combustion’.

Maybe, those ancient Cultivators discovered the secrets of genes and cells by accident, too. But they did not know the usage and activated the dangerous recessive genes in their ignorance, which made the mitochondria overload and released such a huge amount of energy that their body could not bear, causing them to be burnt in the end.

After my experience, it is safe to say that triggering the strength of cells for combat is too unstable and dangerous!

Cultivators fight their battles with spiritual energy, magical equipment, and other useful tools. Their combat ability might vary, but such a way of fighting is safe and stable. Even if they become mentally deranged, their cells would never collapse, nor would they get themselves burnt into ashes.

Li Yao pondered the advantages and disadvantages of the two different ways of fighting while he rushed almost a hundred kilometers away. He took three turns to make sure that he had no pursuers before he finally reached the top of the waterfall in the southwest.

With the Child-Mother Ring, he soon determined Jin Xinyue’s location.

Jin Xinyue was lying on a giant rock on the top of the waterfall. Her body was covered in wounds, but not much blood was flowing out of her veins, a sign that she had already lost too much of her blood.

It seemed that she had experienced a fierce battle, too.

Li Yao peered over the edge and looked at the bottom of the waterfall.

The waterfall was several hundred meters high. Its bottom was covered in fog, which blocked Li Yao’s vision.

Not far away, the water congregated into a zigzagging river that led to the deepest part of the forest.

Li Yao thought quickly for his escape.

Jumping off the cliff seemed to be the best route of escape right now. However, if he were one of the hunters, he would certainly not let go of such an obvious route. The long river below the waterfall would certainly be searched and heavily guarded.

After a moment, Li Yao made up his mind. Li Yao jumped off the waterfall carrying Jin Xinyue, but he charged into the waterfall after falling down dozens of meters.

Crack!

Li Yao’s hand pierced deep into the rocks like a claw, supporting him in the middle of the water against the rushing water current. He then retrieved a small drill of mystic rays from his Cosmos Ring.

The drill of mystic rays was his favorite. A few years ago, he had been training in Yan Xinjian’s secret residence below the surface of Spider Den. In the end, he had dug his way out of the underground with a special drill of mystic rays.

He had held onto the drill of mystic rays. It was one of the main weapons of the new Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit and had played an important role in the battle to annihilate Xiao Xuance. He did not expect that it would come in handy today again.

Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!

Li Yao dug out a narrow pathway in the hard rocks behind the waterfall.

The rocks there were all solid quartzites and basalts. Although the Insect Clan claimed to be the dominators of the underground world, they mostly lived in relatively soft soil or natural caves. It was impossible for them to live in suffocating rocks.

The drill of mystic rays was designed to explore the underground world, and Li Yao was quite familiar with the job. Very soon, he had dug the pathway deep down into the underground.

Naturally, he did not forget to dig a few additional turns behind him. But he estimated that the enemy would not discover the entrance behind the waterfall easily. Even if they did, the outmost part of the pathway had been sealed by him.

After they moved deep below the ground, they encountered a series of natural caves. However, Li Yao and Jin Xinyue, who had only just woken up, did not dare linger. For one day and one night, they kept running at the highest speed deep inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain. It was not until the dawn of the third day that they stopped to catch their breath and discuss the current situation.

“The Nether Spring Kingdom, the Kingdom of Lion Butchers and the Gold Crow Kingdom.”

Li Yao scratched his chin. “Three of the four superpowers of the Blood Demon Sector have joined hands to chase after you. Why?”

“Not three. All of them.” Jin Xinyue was extremely feeble due to the loss of blood. Her face was pale, and she replied dutifully, “I was assaulted by the Iron Crocodile Warriors of the Sea Dominator Kingdom on the top of the waterfall. Although I managed to kill all of them, I was heavily wounded and passed out in the end. Therefore, the Sea Dominator Kingdom is part of the scheme, too.”

Li Yao glanced at her. “Being hunted by the four most powerful kingdoms of the Blood Demon Sector, you are rather calm.”

Jin Xinyue smiled bitterly. “As the saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, I’ve seen too many of such schemes. Before, I cooperated with the assassins of the Nether Spring Kingdom, the Sea Dominator Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Lion Butchers to exterminate certain people that should not exist any longer, too. Now, it is my turn to be exterminated. What’s there to be surprised at?

“However…”

Her eyes suddenly shuddered, and a guilty expression appeared on her face before she said softly, “My death is insignificant, but I accidentally dragged Elder into this disaster. It has absolutely nothing to do with Elder, but I’ve even put Elder into the crosshairs of the four superpowers of the Blood Demon Sector at the same time. I really feel…”

“I’m going to stop you there,” Li Yao said coldly, “If there is no way out, I can always tie you up, throw you to them, and get away myself. I don’t think that they will be so persistent in chasing after an expert who has the capability of a demon emperor after they get what they want. So, there is no need to feel guilty.”

Jin Xinyue was dumbfounded. She had to swallow the remaining part of her speech.

Li Yao smiled and continued. “However, before I tie you up and throw you to them, there is something that I’m rather curious about. Why are the four kingdoms, including the Gold Crow Kingdom, trying to kill you?

“Logically, you know a great secret of the Nether Spring Kingdom. There is no reason for your father, Jin Tuyi, to abandon you.”

Jin Xinyue smiled helplessly and said, “There are many possibilities. For example, when Elder Nether Spring saw that his secret was about to be exposed, he confessed it to my father and made a deal with my father by trading something for the secret and me, who knew the secret.”

“Oh?” Li Yao narrowed his eyes. “Does Elder Nether Spring have anything that is worth trading for his daughter?”

“He does,” Jin Xinyue said calmly, as if she were telling somebody else’s story. “The Red Tide Plan is one of them.”

“The Red Tide Plan?”

Li Yao naturally would not let go of such a good opportunity to collect the secrets of the Blood Demon Sector.

Chapter 861: So-Called Saintess

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“The Red Tide Plan is a war plan that my father has dedicated his entire life to. Hehe. If truth be told, I think the Red Tide Plan is his real ‘child’, and his blood descendants like me are just his tools.”

Biting her lips hard, Jin Xinyue said calmly after a long sigh, “My father foresaw that a great war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector would break out a long time ago. However, both Sectors have a lot of potential. It is practically impossible for either Sector to conquer the other. The most likely outcome is that the two worlds will be burnt to the ground together.

“Therefore, decades ago, my father started studying how to conquer the Heaven’s Origin Sector at the highest speed with the minimum cost. The Red Tide Plan is the result of his research.

“The details of the plan are highly classified. I’m afraid that my father is the only one who knows the whole plan, but the basic idea is, as I said to you before, to launch attack from the east side of the Star Glory Federation.”

Li Yao was deep in thought. “You mentioned that the east side of the Star Glory Federation was a boundless Far East Ocean.”

“Exactly.” Jin Xinyue nodded and said, “The merging point of the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector is in the north of the Grand Desolate Plateau of the Star Glory Federation. Therefore, the northern frontline has always been the most solid line of defense for the Star Glory Federation. The federal army has even militarized the entire Grand Desolate Plateau, and eighty percent of the available forces are stationed on the Grand Desolate Plateau and the Giant Blade Pass.

“On the other hand, the southeast part of the Star Glory Federation near the ocean is the most prosperous and resourceful region. Ever since the ‘Far East Demon Kingdom’, the local demon race of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, perished five hundred years ago, the Star Glory Federation has never witnessed any attack from the southeast. After such a long time of peace, the region’s defense is rather sloppy.

“As far as I know, the Red Tide Plan has two parts. First, a super large-scale attack will be launched in the north of the Star Glory Federation, for the purpose of attracting the forces of the Star Glory Federation. When the soldiers of both parties are fatigued, the most elite troops of the navy and the air force of the Blood Demon Sector will pop up from the ocean to the east of the Star Glory Federation and strike the most prosperous towns near the ocean. They will even assault the capital of the Star Glory Federation directly!

“That is the Red Tide Plan!”

“Sounds good.” Li Yao’s pupils constricted. He tried to stop the brilliance inside his eyes from beaming out. “However, how are the elite troops of the navy and air force of the Blood Demon Sector going to sneak to the ocean to the east of the Star Glory Federation?”

“I have no idea.” Jin Xinyue shook her head and said, “Those details are top confidential. My father did not trust me. For what it’s worth, he barely trusted anybody. Why would he reveal the details? However, by my estimation, it is likely related to the relics of the ‘Far East Demon Kingdom’.

“It is said that the Far East Demon Kingdom meant to build a wormhole leading to the Blood Demon Sector in order to ask for reinforcements from the Blood Demon Sector or to flee there before their doom. However, the kingdom was annihilated before the plan worked out.

“Maybe, my father has broken through the wormhole in secret and grasped a secret route leading to the rear of the Star Glory Federation. He might’ve established a series of undersea bases with the remaining facilities that the Far East Demon Kingdom left.”

Li Yao was so shocked that he was soaked in sweat. He said coldly, “If that’s the case, why didn’t your father launch the ‘Red Tide Plan’ during the ‘Battle of Dawn’?”

Jin Xinyue did not grow suspicious. She replied frankly, “Maybe it was because the wormhole was not stable yet and the undersea bases were not sufficient for the operations? It must be noted that such an assault will be conducted in the rear of the enemy. The benefits will be huge if it succeeds. But if it fails, all the troops will likely be wiped out. It concerns the future of the kingdom and the demon race. My father has to be cautious.

“More importantly, the Feather Clan and the Sea Clan hadn’t reached an agreement with the Insect Clan and the Claw Clan back then.

“The rivalry of continentalism and navalism has been going on for a long time in the Blood Demon Sector. The Red Tide Plan regards the army of the Insect Clan and the Claw Clan as bait who will have to resist the immense pressure of the Star Glory Federation before the real plans works out. It is not hard to imagine that their losses will be heavy.

“Also, even if the Red Tide Plan works out in the end, it will be the Feather Clan and the Sea Clan that occupy the most prosperous areas of the Star Glory Federation. What benefits are there for the Insect Clan and the Claw Clan?

“Because of the objection of the Insect Clan and the Claw Clan, the Red Tide Plan has been put on hold.

“Although my father went to power in place of the previous commander-in-chief after the ‘Battle of Dawn’ suffered a brutal failure, that does not mean that he can dispatch the forces of the Insect Clan and the Claw Clan at will. He is still kept in check by the other experts.

“Elder Nether Spring and Elder Blood Robe, on the other hand, do not object to the Red Tide Plan blindly. They believed that the Red Tide Plan could be an excellent move of distraction. The assault of the Sea Clan and the Feather Clan would certain stall a lot of forces of the Star Glory Federation, but the main focus of the Blood Demon Sector, in their opinion, should still be the Giant Blade Pass where the ground force will win the war!”

Li Yao realized that the main focus of the war was about the conflict of interests.

It was not hard to guess that those who attracted the Star Glory Federation’s attention would suffer heavy losses and those who were attacking for real would likely occupy the prosperous areas of the Star Glory Federation.

Jin Xinyue rubbed her cold face. There was no telling whether she was warming up her frozen muscles or covering the tears in her eyes. She mumbled, “Elder Nether Spring is a hardcore supporter of continentalism. If he is willing to concede on certain aspects of the Red Tide Plan so that it can be implemented smoothly, I believe that my father, who considers the Red Tide Plan his life, will sell an insignificant daughter without even batting an eye.”

Li Yao licked his teeth and said, “So, the Red Tide Plan might have been activated already, the Blood Demon Sector has found a secret wormhole leading to the ocean in the east of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, and undersea bases are being established in the relics of the Far East Demon Kingdom?”

Jin Xinyue shrugged and said, “It is only one possibility. There’s another possibility. My father might not be aware of the matter, and it could be my enemies who are trying to kill me.”

“Really?”

“Very likely,” Jin Xinyue said. “As the new commander-in-chief of the coalition army, he is busy suppressing the Riot of Bloody Blade and trying to raise the morale of the defeated soldiers from the Battle of Battle. He cannot possibly notice every detail. It would not be surprising if somebody tricked him into making a misjudgment.”

“What? You have that many enemies?” Li Yao asked.

“Let me see…” Deep in thought, Jin Xinyue bit her fingernails and said, “There’s no need to mention the Nether Spring Kingdom. I once killed a general of the Nether Spring Kingdom and stole top confidential information from there.

“As for the Kingdom of Lion Butchers, their two princesses received training together with me in the Pantheon of Demons, but they were poisoned by me later.

“I have no personal grudge with the Sea Dominator Kingdom, but they organized an operation to infiltrate the Heaven’s Origin Sector before and I somehow got the intelligence and sold it. Later, I was told that one of their elite squads was entirely wiped out in the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

“In the Gold Crow Kingdom, I have too many enemies. However, the commander of the Mirage Falcon troops is my big brother, Jin Wuxu. That’s odd. My relationship with him is not bad on the surface. Didn’t we work together to kill our seventh brother last time? Why was he trying to kill me? Did he find out that I was behind the attempted assassination against him last month?”

“…” Li Yao.

Jin Xinyue’s eyelids were twitching violently. She mumbled, “It was not because my father discovered that I killed the b*tch, was it? If so, I’m screwed!”

“Who is the ‘b*tch’?” Li Yao asked.

With a scowl, Jin Xinyue answered, “She is my father’s wife.”

Li Yao frowned. “Why did you kill her?”

Jin Xinyue was silent for a long time before she replied, “Because she murdered my mother and sent me to the Pantheon of Demons to be a saintess.”

Before Li Yao opened his mouth, Jin Xinyue smiled bitterly and continued. “You may not know this, Elder, but saintess of the Pantheon of Demons is definitely not a good job.

“First of all, the girls who are chosen as ‘saintesses’ are often around five. They will be sent to the Pantheon of Demons to receive the harshest training when they are seven to eight. The elimination rate is quite high. By ‘elimination’, I mean ‘death’, not being sent home.

“In the batch I was in, the elimination rate was higher than seventy percent. most of the girls were either tortured to death during the harsh training or killed in the ever-lasting combat among ourselves.

“In such an environment, every girl is trying their best for survival. If I don’t kill you, you might kill me. Of course, I poisoned a lot of people, but I was poisoned multiple times, too, and I would not be living today without luck.

“Even if you are lucky enough to pass the perilous training and become an ‘intern saintess’, you will have to carry out the dangerous assignments that the Pantheon of Demons issued. There’s no need to talk about the outcome of those who fail. Even if you succeed, you might be killed to keep your mouth shut.

“In other words, the so-called ‘saintesses’ are merely just a batch of female assassins and spies that the Pantheon of Demons training. The title is just a decoration for us.

“Even if you become the ‘Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens’ out of the countless saintesses of the Pantheon of Demons, you will only end up as a puppet of the twelve demon emperors. You have no real power at all, and you might become a scapegoat at any moment.”

Li Yao raised his eyebrow. “A scapegoat?”

“Exactly,” Jin Xinyue sneered. “According to legend, the honorable Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens boasts the capability to communicate with the ancient demon clans. Therefore, whenever a catastrophe takes place in the Blood Demon Sector, the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens is sacrificed to satisfy the unknowable gods.

“After the failure of the Battle of Dawn, a Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens was sacrificed, and the commander-in-chief who was the real guilty party only resigned. It was harmless for him after all. When everybody forgets what happened, he will rise to power in a different role!

“Hehe. That b*tch. After she killed my mother, she meant to kill me, too. But because of my father, she was not determined to kill a little kid directly. Therefore, she sent me to the Pantheon of Demons to be a saintess. She thought that I would be no more trouble for her at all, even if I was lucky enough to not get killed!”

Chapter 862: Understandable

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“She thought that I knew nothing about the real reason for my mother’s death, and I’d been acting obediently, too, without showing any suspicion. But in secret, I climbed up step by step in the abyss of the Pantheon of Demons and finally crawled out of it, turning into an independent saintess.

“After I became a saintess, I was authorized to recruit my own subordinates and seek the support of those who were loyal to me. I also ran investigations in secret while carrying out the missions of the Pantheon of Demons. Finally, I discovered critical proof.

“However, the b*tch’s family is one of the most powerful in the Gold Crow Kingdom, and she was a reasonably good expert, too. I was no match for her at that time.

“For my revenge, I had to get stronger through whatever methods possible, and in order to get stronger, I had to gain access to a lot of resources. Of course, there were abundant resources that I could get from the Pantheon of Demons, but the b*tch would certainly have found out what I was doing.

“I was left with no option except to steal, to rob, and to trade intelligence for resources.

“Hehe. For several years, I pretended that I was loyal to the b*tch and regarded her as my real mother. She even entrusted two perilous, clearly ill-intended missions to me, but I completed them immaculately. In the second mission, I was even heavily wounded. Finally, she was more or less convinced.

“When I finished all the arrangements, she finally noticed that something was up, but it was already too late for her.

“I killed her without any trouble, but that was not the end of it. Her family was not the only one that was involved in my mother’s murder. My father knew a thing or two about it, too, but he simply turned a blind eye to the case!

“Since the moment my mother was killed, I made up my mind that I would kill all the demons that did her wrong before!

“I will not be a piece of meat on a chopping block like my mother was. I must climb higher, no matter the cost!

“Right now, I am a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, but what about the saintesses? And what about the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens? They are all puppets at the mercy of somebody else, are they not?

“In the Blood Demon Sector, the Pantheon of Demons is the heavens, and those who rule over the heavens are the twelve demon emperors. Those below the twelve demon emperors are all ants!

“I don’t want to be an ant anymore, even if it is named ‘Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens’! I want to be one of the twelve demon emperors, and even the queen of the entire Blood Demon Sector!

“I kept all my thoughts to myself and concealed my sharpness. I kept climbing upwards as a saintess in the Pantheon of Demons. As more and more missions were accomplished smoothly, my father, who had always ignored me, finally noticed me.

“He thought that my dream was to become the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens. Although I would simply be a puppet, he would still enjoy a lot of benefits if the puppet was fully under his control.

“Therefore, he devoted a lot of resources to me and began to support me. He also eliminated a lot of my competitors for me.

“But there is no way that he could have foreseen that my appetite will not be fulfilled just by being the ‘Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens’!

“Hehe. However, it seems that I am quite unlucky. A seemingly regular hunting task, as it turned out, has transformed me into a human being for reasons I do not know. Maybe there are more secrets to the mysterious drug that are not to be known by other people. That’s why the four superpowers are joining their hands to hunt me down!

“I don’t want to admit my failure. I don’t!”

Jin Xinyue’s face turned red in excitement, and her voice grew higher and higher, forgetting that she was speaking to a horrifying ‘old monster’.

She clenched her fists and smashed the wall of the cave hard. Broken stones flew everywhere, and bloody wounds appeared on her fingers while hot tears dripped down from the corners of her eyes.

She leaned against the wall of the cave helplessly and said frustratedly, “I’ve kept those words in my heart all this time. Except to my mother in my dreams, I have never told anybody else before. Today, I finally have the chance to speak freely. I can die without regret now.

“Just as Elder said, we don’t stand a chance against the Pantheon of Demons. Therefore, you might as well tie me up and throw me into the forest. I believe that the Blood Moon Wolf Raiders will find me soon after they smell the scent of my blood.

“As for you, Elder, I suggest that you do not show yourself any time soon. Since there is no telling how many secrets are linked to the mysterious drug, it is possible that the four demon kingdoms will attack you collectively the moment they discover you, and you won’t get a chance to explain.

“Therefore, I strongly suggest that you hold your temper and run as far away as possible. A great war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is drawing near. It’s unlikely that the Pantheon of Demons will deploy a lot of forces to chase after you.”

After finishing her speech, Jin Xinyue took a long breath in relief and closed her eyes in silence. Tears were flowing down her face, and her lips were shivering, as if she had given up everything in hopelessness.

Li Yao observed her countenance with great interest for a long time. Suddenly, he started clapping his hands. The brisk applause echoed in the narrow and long cave.

Jin Xinyue suddenly opened her eyes. Dazed, she asked, “Elder, what are you—”

“Your acting skills are not half bad. It was natural and flawless.” Li Yao complimented sincerely. “Even I was tricked by you without me knowing it and believed ten percent of what you just said!”

Jin Xinyue was stunned. “Which ten percent?”

“The ten percent where you said that you would climb upwards whatever the cost with the goal of becoming the queen of the Blood Demon Sector,” Li Yao replied.

There were a few tears on Jin Xinyue’s eyelashes. She asked, not entirely satisfied, “What about the other ninety percent?”

“I understand the ninety percent in the following way,” Li Yao said casually. “Firstly, you seemed to be outspoken enough to tell me your miserable childhood, but it was partly meant to win my sympathy and partly to highlight my importance to you, which is apparently even higher than your father’s and equal to your deceased mother’s.

“For a lone man who has just woken up from a prolonged hibernation, I might grow slightly protective of you, mightn’t I?

“Secondly, you exaggerated the invincibility of the Pantheon of Demons on purpose. You said that ‘below the twelve demon emperors are but ants’ ostensibly for yourself but in fact for me to hear. You naturally knew that I would not be happy being below anybody and being regarded as an ‘ant’.

“You pointed it out on purpose so that I would realize the immitigable conflict between me and the Pantheon of Demons!

“At the end of your speech, you said that there were more secrets to the mysterious drug and even asked me to run as far away as possible. It is clear that you were implying that I would not get away in any case now that I am already involved. The Pantheon of Demons will not let go of me even if I do not want to be its enemy!

“Vast as the Blood Demon Sector might be, every place is under the twelve demon emperors’ control. Where exactly can I run?

“Oh, right. You also mentioned that a great war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is drawing near. In other words, you were telling me that, despite the Pantheon of Demons’ capability, their greatest enemy is the Heaven’s Origin Sector, and they are bound to show loopholes when they were fighting a strong enemy. I should seize the opportunity and counterattack the Pantheon of Demons, shouldn’t I?

“You appeared to be telling me your miserable experiences sincerely, but in fact, your every word was reminding me that there is an irreconcilable disagreement between me and the Pantheon of Demons. Even if I do not want to piss the Pantheon of Demons off, I will not be able to get away. Since the great war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is coming close, it is the best chance for me to curb the enemy before I am curbed. Otherwise, when everything was settled, I won’t stand any chance to reverse the situation at all.

“However, if I really make up my mind to fight against the Pantheon of Demons, I will naturally need the help of you, a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons who knows the details of the Pantheon of Demons.

“I did not misunderstand what you meant, did I?”

“You are truly wise!” There was not the slightest fear or embarrassment on Jin Xinyue’s face, at least none that Li Yao could tell. She kneeled down obediently and said with respect, “Elder, you are wise enough to distinguish the meaning between my lines so quickly. I was wondering how I should explain it to you!

“In fact, for normal beginning-level demons, it is not a bad idea to be recruited by the Pantheon of Demons, but your capability and spirits resemble those of a dragon soaring in the high sky. How can you be trapped in a small pond?

“An unparalleled expert such as Elder has every reason to be the master of the Blood Demon Sector, no, the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector! Therefore, the contradiction between Elder and the Pantheon of Demons is definitely unresolvable. I don’t think you need me to point it out for you, Elder.”

“As I recall, your words were different before you found out that you were being hunted by the Gold Crow Kingdom,” Li Yao said coldly.

“At that time, I thought that I could return to the Gold Crow Kingdom and gather a lot of secret arts and files on genes for you, Elder, and I certainly did not want you to have conflict with the Pantheon of Demons so quickly,” Jin Xinyue replied unhurriedly. “But now, the situation has changed. It is only reasonable that I think of new plans. Although you must’ve thought everything through with your wisdom, I think I can be of assistance to you if I can help you analyze the mess and save a few braincells for you, Elder.”

Li Yao scoffed. “However, why do I feel that you are manipulating me?”

Jin Xinyue hesitated and said, “I want to say that I am not manipulating you for my own survival at all, but I believe that it would be an insult to your wisdom if I claimed that I am purely admiring your charisma. It is the instinct of every creature to struggle for survival. Right now, every other avenue of escape is a dead end, and I can only clutch one of your leg hairs hard, hoping that you can pull me out of the hell when you soar into the sky and dominate the world. It is quite understandable, isn’t it?”

Seeing that the woman was so blatantly shameless, Li Yao was rendered speechless. He was not willing to play the word game any longer. Pondering for a long time, he raised his eyebrow and asked, “In your opinion, can we fight against the Pantheon of Demons with just the two of us?”

Chapter 863: Void Turmoil City, Fire Ant King!

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Without even blinking, Jin Xinyue said quickly, “With your unparalleled wisdom and strength, the Pantheon of Demons would disappear as long as you flicked your little finger at them. However, we don’t use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. You don’t have to do such things personally, Elder. After all, the greatest threat for the Pantheon of Demons is not us.”

Cold brilliance suddenly flashed in his eyes, as if he were angry. He said coldly, “Are you referring to the Heaven’s Origin Sector? You want me to cooperate with human beings? Hehe. That’s right. I almost forget that you look like a pure human being from your head to your toe now. It is only reasonable that you want to join hands with human beings of the Heaven’s Origin Sector.”

Jin Xinyue hurried to kneel down and shook her head. “Cooperation can only be established on equal terms. Right now, I am all by myself. If I go to cooperate with the Heaven’s Origin Sector, I will simply be feeding myself to the human beings.

“Also, with your identity, it is difficult for you to win the Heaven’s Origin Sector’s trust, Elder.

“What I referred to was the Blade of Chaos.”

Li Yao thought quickly and said, “Go on.”

Jin Xinyue coughed slightly and continued. “The Blade of Chaos seems to have suffered a major strike. However, the body of a bug can still move even if it is killed. Such a large organization cannot be eliminated so easily.

“The Blade of Chaos has reached every social class of the Blood Demon Sector in its hundreds of years of lurking in the darkness. Right now, we have only chopped its tentacles and limbs at best. We do not even know where its heart is.

“As you know, Elder, after the Blade of Chaos started the ‘Riot of Bloody Blade’ and occupied Bone Sand City in the north, the rebels stayed there and sabotaged the city, giving the coalition army of the demon race plenty of time to mobilize and annihilate all of them.

“At first, I thought that the Blade of Chaos was simply made of a bunch of mobs who did not know what to do after they took over a major city.

“But from a different perspective, what if their target had always been the mysterious drug that could turn a demon into a human being?”

Li Yao’s eyes were slightly enlarged. “Huh?”

“Suppose that the Blade of Chaos learned a long time ago that Elder Nether Spring had a secret laboratory in Bone Sand City and invented a mysterious drug that could change the world,” Jin Xinyue said. “Therefore, they initiated the ‘Riot of Bloody Riot’, and their real reason for occupying Bone Sand City was to search for said drug.

“If that’s the case, it is easy to understand why they stayed in and sabotaged the city. That is because they were digging pits in every household in search of Elder Nether Spring’s laboratory and the mysterious drug!

“If so, the secrets behind the drug must be more appalling than we imagined. Elder Nether Spring hunted them down without caring for the cost!

“If so, other than Elder Nether Spring and the four kingdoms, the Blade of Chaos should be looking for the mysterious drug, too!

“Right now, the mysterious drug has been absorbed by me and has led to the unbelievable changes inside my body. Therefore, I think that I might be a rather valuable bargaining chip right now. We can use me to initiate dealings with the Blade of Chaos.”

Li Yao thought for a moment and nodded. “You do have a point, but where are we going to find the Blade of Chaos? The entire Blood Demon Sector is suppressing the rebellions right now. Members of the Blade of Chaos must be living in anxiety and will not show up easily in case they are captured.”

Cunningness suddenly beamed out of Jin Xinyue’s eyes, as she smiled and said, “I happened upon a piece of ungrounded intelligence before, which was the location of a secret bureau, if not the headquarters, of the Blade of Chaos!”

Li Yao was dazed for a moment. “You knew where the Blade of Chaos was headquartered, and you kept such important information to yourself instead of reporting it to the Pantheon of Demons?”

Jin Xinyue laughed drily. “What benefits can I get by reporting it to the Pantheon of Demons? I might as well hide the information first and trade it for something more valuable when necessary, say, right now, in order to make best use of the information.”

Li Yao stared at her.

“It can’t be helped,” Jin Xinyue said frankly. “If you want to live, and live well, in the Blood Demon Sector, you must grasp a few secrets that other people do not know about.”

“Then, where is the secret bureau of the Blade of Chaos?” Li Yao asked calmly.

“Void Turmoil City.”

Li Yao chewed on the name and vaguely sensed the stink of blood. He remembered hearing the name when he was back in the Dry Leaf Village.

“Void Turmoil City is an independent city and does not belong to the four most powerful demon kingdoms,” Jin Xinyue said. “It is perhaps the most dangerous, disorderly, and lawless place in the entire Blood Demon Sector. It wouldn’t be exaggerating to call the city a cancer of the Blood Demon Sector.”

Li Yao found it amusing. “And the Pantheon of Demons simply tolerates the existence of such a ‘cancer’?”

“That’s because ‘Fire Ant King’, master of Void Turmoil City, is a middle-level demon emperor with tremendous strength,” Jin Xinyue explained.

“The Fire Ant King is a weirdo in the demon emperors. His strength and background are on par with those of quite a few of the twelve demon emperors, but he has never shown any intention of competing for the place of the twelve demon emperors. He simply occupied the Void Turmoil peninsula and established his own city, declaring that he would not attack anybody as long as he was not attacked.

“After Void Turmoil City was established, the most brutal demons of the Blood Demon Sector were immediately attracted to it. Many of them had committed felonies in the community that they belonged to or were those who failed in the struggle for power. They did not want to be sent to the Heaven’s Origin Sector for suicidal missions and therefore fled to Void Turmoil City. As long as they entered the territory of Void Turmoil City, the Fire Ant King would treat and shelter them equally.

“As time went on, the most brutal and merciless demons gathered around the Fire Ant King. With his invincible forces, other demons do not dare mess with him easily anymore.

“Unlike his forces, the Fire Ant King is the opposite of reckless. In fact, he is extremely smart.

“His Void Turmoil City mainly has two businesses.

“Firstly, to capture and refine the chaotic-blood demons.

“The chaotic-blood demons are despised by all other demons. They often live in remote regions of the Blood Demon Sector, too. After generations of life in the wilderness, they have become disobedient and uneducable.

“Therefore, the Fire Ant King sends out slave-catching teams to capture the chaotic-blood demons in the far-flung areas of the Blood Demon Sector. All the prey is brought back to Void Turmoil City for refinement. They are either bred into loyal slaves or fearless cannon fodder. Some of them even became gladiators who are made to fight each other for the entertainment of high-level demons.

“After the refinement, he sells the slaves, soldiers, and gladiators to high-level demons to be their pets, tools, and weapons.

“Through such a business, not only has the Fire Ant King earned a fortune, he has also made friends with the leadership of various tribes. After he first started, he quickly became the biggest hunter of chaotic-blood demons and slave owner of the Blood Demon Sector.

“The Fire Ant King provides slaves for the high-level demons with a neutral attitude, showing that he is interested in only money and nothing else. Why would anybody come to piss off such a peaceful demon emperor?

“Around the ‘Battle of Dawn’, the demand for cannon fodder soared. The Fire Ant King was much more efficient in producing cannon fodder than the major demon kingdoms were. He was a noble guest of the demon kings, who would only greet him warmly when he dropped by. Did they have any reason to provoke him?

“The Fire Ant King’s second business is the refinement of various kinds of demonic plants. The Fire Ant King possesses secret arts that can refine the demonic plants and extract the narcotic and berserker drugs from the demonic plants.

“The drugs are very important military assets. Many ignorant demons, especially the herbivores, are weak and do not have aggressive instincts. They require the narcotic and berserker drugs to put them in illusions where their family is being butchered by human beings. That’s the only way to trigger their bloodthirst and motivate them to fight.

“The demonic plants and slaughtering drugs that the Fire Ant King produces are very effective. Such a business has brought him wealth and the friendship of the major demon kingdoms, too. His Void Turmoil City, thus, became a unique place in the Blood Demon Sector.

“More importantly, the Fire Ant King and Elder Nether Spring are blood brothers who share the same mother!”

Li Yao was dazed. “What?”

“According to the custom of the demon race, if two brothers of the same family are both experts, intense conflicts are inevitable for the control of the family and family businesses,” Jin Xinyue said.

“However, years ago, the Fire Ant King bowed out of the competition of his own accord and left the Nether Spring Kingdom. He basically gave the entire Nether Spring Kingdom to Elder Nether Spring and established his businesses on his own.

“Moreover, when Elder Nether Spring was competing with other brothers, the Fire Ant King offered a lot of help so that Elder Nether Spring gradually grasped the entire Insect Clan.

“As a result, whether because Elder Nether Spring bore the favor that the Fire Ant King did to him in mind or because he was meaning to further count on his brother’s strength, it was difficult for him to turn against the Fire Ant King.

“Right now, the Fire Ant King has the support of Elder Nether Spring in the Pantheon of Demons, countless brutal demons as his subordinates, and sources of wealth that exceed the revenue streams of major demon kingdoms. He is also a strong middle-level demon emperor. Who is bold enough to ask for his trouble?”

Li Yao thought for a moment and said, “According to your story, the Fire Ant King made the first pot of gold by hunting the chaotic-blood demons, and Void Turmoil City is a huge factory that produces bettered chaotic-blood demons. Then, isn’t it the most dangerous place for the chaotic-blood demons?”

“You’re right, Elder.” Jin Xinyue smiled and said, “This is a hint of the smartness of the Blade of Chaos. The most dangerous place is perhaps the safest place. Right now, the entire Blood Demon Sector is searching for the members of the Blade of Chaos and their bureaus. But nobody would expect that the most important secret bureau of the Blade of Chaos is right inside Void Turmoil City below the Fire Ant King’s nose!”

“Understood.”

Li Yao thought quickly. The mental devil quickly released almost a hundred sordid, ill-intended ideas inside his brain. He made up his mind and said, “It seems that we must pay a trip to Void Turmoil City to look for the headquarters of the Blade of Chaos, explore all of the secrets of the mysterious drug, and even…”

Pausing for a moment, Li Yao scratched his bulging left temple and said calmly, “Meet this Fire Ant King!”

Chapter 864: Trip to Void Turmoil City

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Half a month later, ten thousand kilometers to the north of the Hundred Desolation Mountain, in a boundless red desert, a team of demon beasts was rushing at an amazingly high speed.

The demon beasts were all enormous in size. They were more than a hundred meters both in length and in width. The membranes all over their bodies bulged out, with pinky gas filled inside that made them look like balloons that were stitched together.

The gas stored inside the airbags was lighter than air, which made the beasts drift and fly in midair freely.

Such demon beasts were known as ‘Land Whales’. Their prototype was the commonly-seen giant sandworms in the deserts of the Blood Demon Sector. The experts of the demon race refined and altered their genes over hundreds of years unceasingly. Finally, they developed airbags that were similar to the swimming bladder and could generate an exceedingly light gas naturally inside the body.

Below the body of the Land Whales were six rows of spurts that evolved from cloacae, which could alter the direction of the beasts by spurting feeble air currents. In the meantime, soft tentacles almost a hundred meters long were growing on the two sides and the back of the Land Whales’ bodies. While grabbing the insects inside the desert, the tentacles could change the direction of the beast like paddles, accelerate and decelerate, and even hold down the passengers or goods.

Because their speed was high, and they were not picky about food, Land Whales had gradually become the most commonly-seen vehicles of the Blood Demon Sector across many territories.

The team of Land Whales had almost a hundred of them in total and stretched over dozens of kilometers long. The spurting air currents blew the red sand into the sky, as if a thick crimson dragon were rushing on the ground.

On the back of every Land Whale was dozens of densely distributed cabins whose edges were embedded with giant iron rings that were tied to the tentacles of the Land Whales tightly.

A lot of holes had been left on the wall of the giant cabins, from which screams and moans could vaguely be heard.

This was a slave-catching team that was returning with full loads.

In the Riot of Bloody Blade, a large batch of black-blood demons and chaotic-blood demons rebelled, and the fire of insurrection burned throughout the entire Blood Demon Sector.

While the leaders of the demon kingdoms were having a headache, it was a golden time for Void Turmoil City to take the advantage.

Before, the chaotic-blood demons could not be captured randomly, however lowly they were. A lot of excuses had to be made up first.

But now, it was much more convenient. With a claim that the victims were the accomplices of the Blade of Chaos, they were able to capture the chaotic-blood demons that were scattered in every corner of the Blood Demon Sector.

With the war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector coming near, the demand on cannon fodder had soared. The bloody road leading to Void Turmoil City was always brimming with vehicles and screams.

The cabins on the back of every Land Whale had been fully packed. However, the slave-catchers were apparently quite experienced. They had divided the cabins with iron gauze. Although it was crammed, a minimum zone of activity was maintained so that the chaotic-blood demons captured would not be killed on a large scale.

Inside one of the cabins at the rear of the team of demon beasts, Li Yao and Jin Xinyue were locked in the same prison cell. Different from the other chaotic-blood demons who were simmering, they both lowered their heads lethargically, trying their best to hide the brilliance shining in their eyes.

Their current appearance was vastly different from half a month ago.

Li Yao had changed the distribution and direction of his muscles, turning himself into a tough, muscular man. His left arm was now covered in a layer of vague scales. His forearms were sharp but had the features of lions and tigers, too. At first glance, he was just a random, simpleminded chaotic-blood demon.

Jin Xinyue had her own secret techniques for disguise. She was now dark and slender. Her eyes became two lines like those of a reptile, and her tongue was narrow and long like that of a snake, hissing every now and then. She was an out-and-out ugly snake right now.

However hard Li Yao observed, he did not find any discrepancies in her appearance. He could not help but feel amazed.

They did not have a choice to pretend to chaotic-blood demons.

Although Void Turmoil City was a chaotic, lawless place, the Fire Ant King was a top-tier expert of the Blood Demon Sector. The city seemingly was operated in the open but in a very strict way. It was not difficult for them to enter Void Turmoil City, but it was quite a different matter if they did not want to raise anybody’s attention.

The four kingdoms were apparently still searching for the two of them. Both of their identities had to be kept a secret right now, and disguises were mandatory.

Of the different types of demons, the black-blood demons and the bronze-blood demons were too different from normal human beings. No matter how Li Yao changed his body, he could not turn himself into a giant mantis crouching on the ground or change his legs into a tail.

The silver-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons were the most similar to human beings in appearance, and it was easier for them to pretend.

However, the silver-blood demons were all nobles. Every silver-blood demon had a unique appearance, identity, and familial background. Their identity would immediately be exposed if somebody stopped and questioned them.

Jin Xinyue had prepared a lot of fake identities before, but she was not sure that those identities were still confidential right now.

After careful consideration, they could only pretend to be chaotic-blood demons to sneak into Void Turmoil City.

After fleeing from the Hundred Desolation Mountain while covering their tracks, they lay low during the day and moved northwards at night, marching toward Void Turmoil City.

The deeper they got to the north, the more they could feel the influence of the ‘Riot of Bloody Blade’ on the Blood Demon Sector.

The poor villages that they passed had almost all been demolished. The towns of chaotic-blood demons and black-blood demons were involved in the insurrection. They had either joined the ‘Riot of Bloody Blade’ with their entire town or were regarded as accomplices of the Blade of Chaos and executed later.

While they were travelling in the mountains, they ran into a lot of groups of chaotic-blood demons and black-blood demons who had mostly fled to the mountains to avoid the fire of war. Naturally, some of the remnants of the Blade of Chaos might have been hiding among them, but most of them were innocent civilians.

However, when the army of the four kingdoms and the slave-catching teams of Void Turmoil City came, they simply captured all the demons without distinguishing who they were at all. The victims either ended up being another accomplishment of the magnificent silver-blooded generals or would become cannon fodder in the war soon to come.

Under such circumstances, a lot of displaced low-level demons had been mixed together. Most of them were ignorant and faltering, unable to talk about their origins clearly. Some of them were even wild demons who had lived in the unhabituated forests. It was an utter mess. Identifying every low-level demon clearly was simply an impossible task.

Also, the slave-catching teams from Void Turmoil City were not interested in identifying the prey at all. After all, in their eyes, those demons were nothing but slaves and cannon fodder. Who would care what slaves and cannon fodder used to be?

Li Yao and Jin Xinyue tailed a slave-catching team for three days and three nights to make sure that it was from Void Turmoil City.

Then, everything was simple. They disguised themselves and snuck into a group of refugees that was right in the way of said slave-catching team. They were ‘captured’ by the slave-catching team smoothly as planned.

However, it was not as smooth as it should have been. As the trip continued, Li Yao found it harder and harder to keep his mind stable and to contain his fury. The mental devil had expanded significantly, too.

Wa! Wa! Wa! Wa!

In the upper prison cell of the same cabin, a baby of the chaotic-blood demons was crying loudly. The sound was piercing Li Yao’s eardrums brutally like iron needles.

The chaotic-blood demons were generally alike to human beings, and it was hardly possible to find the features of demons on the babies of the chaotic-blood demons at all. They looked exactly like plump human infants and would not reveal the features of demons until they were two or three.

During the long journey, Li Yao witnessed the demons who were almost identical to humans being bullied and tortured by the hideous black-blood demons and the bronze-blood demons. His outrage was inevitable.

If the Heaven’s Origin Sector is really swallowed by the Blood Demon Sector one day, this will be the outcome for all the citizens of the Star Glory Federation, won’t it?

The thought burned furiously inside Li Yao’s brain and formed what seemed to be a crimson lotus on which the mental devil was sitting in relaxation and observing everything coldly.

Huala!

Right then, the tentacles of the Land Whale in front of Li Yao suddenly crumbled. A cabin fell from its back and broke apart.

Countless black-blood demons immediately jumped out and dispersed in a hurry to run away.

Those black-blood demons all looked repulsive. They seemed to be enormous beetles, and they were emanating a stinky smell and earsplitting shrieks.

They apparently had a lot of strength. The iron gauze that carried feeble electric currents was torn into pieces after they struggled for a moment.

Li Yao observed the situation through the ventilation tubes in secret.

He heard that a few demons nearby were shouting that the dosage of narcotic drugs was not enough.

In a moment, dozens of brawny demons lunged close, carrying long rods that were almost three meters long and had tentacles that looked like electric eels. Electric arcs were spluttering as they drove the dispersing black-blood demons back to where they should have been.

A black-blood demon that looked like a mantis happened to be passing the Land Whale that Li Yao was on. He was tied up by a few electric whips and finally dragged back.

His blade limbs left eight deep ravines in the red desert, which looked like eight bloody wounds.

Maybe it was only his imagination, but Li Yao felt that he saw fury, sadness, pain, and desperation, everything that could be seen in a human, in the crimson eyes of the demon.

Pu… Pu…

The slave-catching team sprayed a huge amount of pink venomous gas at the black-blood demons. In the middle of the spreading venomous gas, the brightness inside the eyes of the black-blood demons gradually disappeared before they collapsed to the ground one by one and were stuffed into new cabins.

“Do the black-blood demons have to be refined, too?” Li Yao asked Jin Xinyue in a low voice.

“Of course they do,” Jin Xinyue replied. “The black-blood demons are deemed as ‘producers’ in the ‘Four Pillars’ system. Most of the black-blood demons only have the genes of the herbivores. They are not aggressive by nature.

“Even the hideous-looking insects mostly feed on plants and grass. They will not attack other creatures promptly without a cause. How can they form fearless beast tides to fight against human beings without being refined?”

Chapter 865: Séance and Ghost Flowers

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Li Yao was dazed for a moment. He had never considered the question from such a perspective before.

On second thought, it did seem a bit odd. In nature, the number of creatures at the lower level of the food chain was often more than ten times larger than that of the creatures at a higher level.

More specifically speaking, there should have been over ten times more herbivores than carnivores.

Even the insects that seemed repulsive mostly fed upon the juices of flowers and grass. Only a tiny proportion of them would prey on other insects.

Those herbivores naturally were not very aggressive, so why did they turn into monsters who knew nothing except slaughtering after they evolved into demons?

Jin Xinyue chuckled and said in a mosquito-like voice, “In fact, it’s been almost ten thousand years since the narcotic drugs were first employed in the demon race. Generally speaking, the narcotic drugs cooperate with legends and tales. The speaker will preach on the glorious history of the demon race in the beginning. Then, they will talk about the magnificence of the final war. In the end, they will describe how sacred and everlasting the real Pantheon of Demons, where all demons will be bathed in eternal happiness, is.

“After the propaganda, the narcotic drugs are released. Together with secret arts, the demons become delirious and see all kinds of hallucinations—the ancient demons building the entire universe, themselves fighting a hotblooded battle in the final war, or everybody enjoying the eternal happiness after ascending to the splendid Pantheon of Demons.

“In the classics of the demon race, such a ceremony is known as ‘séance’. If the circumstances allow, most high-level demons are educated from a young age through daily séances. Naturally, when they grow up, they will have absolutely no doubt about theories of ‘Obliteration, Rebirth, and Immortality’ of the Pantheon of Demons.

“However, most of the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons are born in underdeveloped areas that are not embraced by the illuminations of the Pantheon of Demons. With a great war coming close, there is no time to refine them slowly. So, it is only necessary to ship them to Void Turmoil City and speed them up with the Fire Ant King’s secret arts.”

Li Yao could tell that there was contempt in her tone. He thought of something and asked, “You don’t believe in theories?”

Jin Xinyue chuckled and said, “I can believe them as long as there are enough benefits.”

While the two of them were whispering to each other, the team moved forward again. After another hour of rushing, they reached the end of the continent, and a surging black ocean appeared on the horizon.

An enormous peninsula extended out of the continent like a sharp fang and pierced deep into the ocean.

In the sky above the peninsula, the electromagnetic field and the spiritual energy were both disordered, forming what seemed to be a colorful swirl that was partially surrounded by a weird dark cloud. Thunder was echoing every once in a while, and dazzling lightning was running down. But the other half side of the sky was sunny, and the scorching sunlight stabbed deep into the earth like glamourous blades.

Li Yao looked afar and noticed very out of place mountain. The mountain was riddled with holes everywhere. However, when Li Yao observed more carefully, he discovered that overlapping skyscrapers that congregated into an enormous metropolis.

“Void Turmoil City is here!”

Li Yao was greatly refreshed. This was the first time he had ever observed a big city of the Blood Demon Sector at a close distance. Naturally, he would not miss a single detail.

On the red earth leading to the peninsula, a broad road paved by gray rocks gradually appeared. Two statues huge statues were standing on either side of the road. They were pure white and flawless. There was no sign of joints at all. Each statue seemed to be carved out of a single piece of jade.

Of the two statues, the first one was a man and a woman who had human heads and snake bodies. Their snake bodies were interweaved into a perfect double helix. With a closer look, one would notice that endless scriptures had been engraved on every scale of the snake bodies. Complicated information seemed to have been stored on them.

Although they were not wearing anything and their skin was touching, the male and the female were solemn and gave absolutely no lecherous feelings. On the contrary, they imposed the urge to kneel down and worship them upon anybody who saw them.

The other statue was a magnificent warrior with three legs and six arms. Enormous horns protruded out of the temples of the statue and pointed at the sky!

Although they were made of white jade, the statues seemed to be alive and releasing an overwhelming aura to all directions incessantly, making anybody who looked at them feel impatient and the passion of killing.

“The two statues are both powerful magical equipment!” The mental devil suddenly spoke in his head. “Especially the statue that represents slaughtering and fighting. It boasts enticing glamour that can increase one’s killing intent by ten times without them knowing! Interesting. Very interesting!”

Li Yao was suddenly alarmed. The two statues must have been the ancient demons in the legends, but who built them exactly?

The Demon Beast Empire had ruled over the sea of stars for thirty thousand years. Although they were known as ‘demons’, they actually passed on the language, culture, and system of mankind. How many secrets had been buried during the thirty thousand years? It was indeed intriguing.

The team of Land Whales passed through the gate made of the two enormous statues and officially entered the territory of Void Turmoil City. On the two sides of the road were dense gardens that were colorful and quite beautiful when looked at from afar.

However, when Li Yao enhanced his vision and observed more carefully by adjusting his pupils and his crystalline lens, he discovered that the plants inside the gardens were quite weird.

They looked like tentacles extending from the underground and pointing at the sky. Every tentacle was packed with dense sucking discs that were emitting mysterious fluorescence. Together with the spores that surrounded them, the plants gave a frightening sense of beauty.

At the tip of the tentacles was an enormous ball bag that looked like a dandelion magnified countless time. It was quite puffy and drifting like a balloon.

In the breeze, the thousands of devilish tentacles were dancing along the wind. They looked like a heavily polluted cesspit. Anybody who saw them would feel their blood freezing.

Right then, dozens of giant eagles flew close in the sky, with the tamers sitting in the seats that were tied on their back with harnesses. The eagles were snatching animals such as lambs and calves. When they reached the location, they simply released the animals into the weird gardens.

In a moment, earsplitting hissing sounds filled the gardens. All the tentacles were waving crazily as if they had just been charged with electricity. Every sucking disc was wide open, revealing vicious grinding organs. The lambs and the calves were all torn apart and absorbed in, only to be entirely devoured within a breath without the slightest trace of their bones left.

While Li Yao was amazed, one of the eagles seemed to become the target for one of the tentacles because of its low altitude.

The tentacle constricted violently like a spring before it suddenly jerked up and dashed almost a hundred meters into the sky, snatching the claw of the eagle and dragging it down by force!

The eagle struggled hard and even tore off the claw in its panic.

But there was no time. At this moment, the eagle was only around seventy meters from the ground. Almost twenty tentacles sprinted out and immediately tied the eagle up without leaving any gaps.

Both the eagle and the tamer did not even have time to scream before they turned into a cluster of bloody mist, eaten up by the greedy predators!

The tentacles that had enjoyed their food grew even more eye-catching than before. The ball bags at the top expanded, too, a colorful mist that drifted into the sky.

“They are ‘Ghost Flowers’. They have to be fed with fresh meat and blood every day. When they mature, the liquids secreted from the ball bags become the best ingredients to produce the narcotic drugs,” Jin Xinyue explained. “Void Turmoil City is at the center of the electromagnetic swirl of the Blood Demon Sector. The climate is very unstable. It is unfavorable for all kinds of plants. Therefore, it was never developed before.

“But the Fire Ant King somehow discovered that the area is particularly suitable to develop the narcotic and the berserker plants!

“When he first established his city in this place, many demons mocked him, but after his endeavor proved to be a success, nobody dared to laugh at him anymore.”

Deep in thought, Li Yao looked further ahead.

Around Void Turmoil City, across the entire peninsula, there were gardens and breeding bases everywhere.

Other than the brutal and hungry Ghost Flowers, Li Yao also saw another thousand or so bizarre-shaped plants.

The ‘Dragon Hunter Grass’ that lurked in the soil and suddenly dashed out to hunt, the ‘Thorny Flower’ that looked like holothurian on land with thorns all over its body and could fire deadly acid, the ‘Rainbow Umbrella’ that had a thin fragrance that could cast the victims into frenzy without them knowing…

Those plants were both the ingredients to refine all kinds of drugs and the best guards of Void Turmoil City because of their aggressiveness and their hallucinogenic effects.

Li Yao pondered hard about how he could have snuck into Void Turmoil City through the gardens that covered dozens of square kilometers if he was not pretending to be a chaotic-blood demon.

After considering for a long time, he was not confident that he would have been able to at all.

He could help not but grow wary of the Fire Ant King, the master of Void Turmoil City.

Passing through an area of black vines that soared up into the sky, they entered the downtown area of Void Turmoil City.

Li Yao’s first impression on the city was ‘disorderly’ and ‘barbaric’.

Although there were skyscrapers in the city, too, they were not made of rebar and cement but constructed by hollow weird, giant trees. Those giant trees were hundreds of meters in diameter. Not only were the hollowed trunks the best zone for activity, the branches stretching in various directions also interweaved into the best channels in the air, too.

According to Jin Xinyue, even the roots of the trees deep below the ground were all important means of transportation. Countless demons often came and went between the roots of different trees. It was quite convenient.

Such giant tree buildings, although hollowed, were not dead yet but still growing at a very slowly speed. Like the demon beasts, they were the products of generations of genetic modification and refinement, too.

Li Yao saw that many demons strode out of the neatly made tree holes proudly. When they reached the end of the branches, many flying demon beasts would immediately fly to them and carry them to their destinations in Void Turmoil City. There was apparently order in the seemingly messy city. Despite the odd appearance of the city and the citizens, Li Yao felt that they were actually no different from their counterparts in the Star Glory Federation.

Chapter 866: Skeleton Island

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

All the brutal bandits of the Blood Demon Sector had gathered in Void Turmoil City. Due to their different living habits, the city was divided into almost ten districts whose environments were different from each other. The team of the Land Whales passed through the forest district, the swamp district, the neve district, and the desert district. Some of the districts were divided by high mountains and waterfalls, while some others were blocked by man-made rune arrays. It was told that there was an enormous undersea district at the end of the peninsula that was specially designed for the Sea Clan.

Seeing that almost a million different kinds of demons were living in the same city peacefully, the more fashionable of whom were even driving shuttles from the Heaven’s Origin Sector instead of riding eagles or other flying demon beasts, even Li Yao was dazzled and quite amazed.

Very soon, after a prolonged shriek, the Land Whales spurted bright green gas up into the sky. The full airbags around their body were clearly emptied as they gradually lowered their altitude and velocity.

In the front was an enormous square made of black rocks, which was the center of Void Turmoil City.

Jin Xinyue whispered to him, “We are about to arrive at the ‘Four Pillars Square’ of Void Turmoil City. All newly captured black-blood demons and chaotic-blood demons are gathered and screened in the Four Pillars Square first.

“The docile and weak ones can be refined into servants and maids; the not-so-strong ones can be refined into slaves for mining and tending to the demonic plants; the strong ones can be refined into soldiers for the war to come. As for the exceptionally strong and yet impetuous ones, they are the unstable factor among the slaves, and they will be sent into the arena to become gladiators.

“The biggest arena in Void Turmoil City is known as ‘Skeleton Island’. It is in the top tier even taking all the arenas of the Blood Demon Sector into account. That’s our target!

“Before, in order to trade for intelligence, I’ve been to Void Turmoil City several times and observed the combat of the gladiators on the Skeleton Island. They were indeed marvelous, blood-freezing games.

“I once saw a black-blood demon being ripped apart by a demon beast and losing his left arm and the majority of his heart. It was clear that there was no way that he could survive. The staff on the Skeleton Island tossed him into the ‘Thousand Corpse Abyss’ to get rid of him.

“The Thousand Corpse Abyss is a natural cave deep inside the Skeleton Island. At the bottom of the cave, countless ferocious demon beasts are locked up. Whenever a dead body falls down, they will immediately be devoured by the demon beasts. There won’t even be scraps of their bones left. Nobody can survive their attack.

“The black-blood demon was using a special combat skill named ‘Hundred Soft Killing’, which aroused my interest and gave me some enlightenment. He left a deep impression on me, and there was no way that I would mistake somebody else for him.

“He was clearly dead, but during the ‘Riot of Bloody Blade’, I ran into the black-blood demon by accident again.

“Although his appearance was slightly different and his combat style had changed, I had a very familiar feeling. Then, as I expected, he performed the ‘Hundred Soft Killing’ at the perilous moment when I tested him, with exactly the same form as before!

“Therefore, I am certain that he was the gladiator who should’ve been killed on the Skeleton Island!

“But right now, he has turned into a member of the Blade of Chaos, and even a captain in it, with a higher capability than before!

“I felt that something was greatly wrong. Therefore, I did not ask for any of my subordinates’ help and captured the black-blood demon in secret by myself, hoping to elicit the information from him.

“His tongue was rather tough, and he didn’t give me much valuable information. But there was indeed a faint scar resulting from tearing on the joint of his left arm and his shoulder blade. The entire left arm seemed to be sewed back to his body after the accident.

“His heart was quite weird, too. It displayed the features of two different kinds of demons at the same time.

“I was pretty sure that he was an out-and-out black-blood demon in the beginning. How could his heart show the features of two types of demons?

“It was this incident that made me grow more and more suspicious about the Blade of Chaos. I investigated in secret and got more and more involved. Later, by accident, I discovered Elder Nether Spring’s uncanny attitude toward the Blade of Chaos. I dug deeper into it, and you know the rest.

“Based on the few words of the black-blood demon and the proof that I grasped, ‘Skeleton Island’ is very likely an important bureau of the Blade of Chaos, and there is something seriously wrong with ‘Yuchi Ba’, the boss of the Skeleton Island!

“On the surface, the Skeleton Island is a cruel arena, but in fact, it is probably the ‘boot camp’ to select the elite warriors for the Blade of Chaos!

“But whether or not it is the case will require your thorough investigation or even a personal ‘chitchat’ with Yuchi Ba.”

On their trip, Jin Xinyue had explained the whole plan multiple times. However, she was still scared that the unpredictable old monster would prefer the straightforward method. She repeated without getting bored, “I know that, with Elder’s capability, you can rage inside Void Turmoil City and find Yuchi Ba directly.

“However, Yuchi Ba is extremely prudent, and he brings a lot of bodyguards wherever he goes. He rarely shows up by himself.

“If his Skeleton Island is really the boot camp of the Blade of Chaos, his valiance and wisdom must be extremely impressive, too, considering that the Fire Ant King is right next to him.

“Right now, the Blade of Chaos is being struck heavily, and it is the most perilous moment for him. Will he acknowledge his identity if you pay an unannounced visit to him?

“More importantly, we don’t know whether or not there are the spies of the Fire Ant King and even Elder Nether Spring around Yuchi Ba. It will be a disaster if we alarm them and expose the secrets of the Skeleton Island and Yuchi Ba.

“Therefore, I’m afraid that Elder must sneak into the Skeleton Island in order to approach Yuchi Ba.

“According to the tradition of the Skeleton Island, if a gladiator can survive five battles on the island, they will be invited to meet Yuchi Ba and regain their freedom. Yuchi Ba will refer them to high-level demons as killers, assassins, or bodyguards.

“I assume that they are probably the spies that Yuchi Ba sends out. Since those killers, assassins, and bodyguards are around the high-level demons, it is only natural that they can provide a constant, accurate stream of intelligence for the Blade of Chaos.

“The battles on the Skeleton Island are quite cruel, and it is nigh on impossible for normal gladiators to pass five of them, but with Elder’s capability, it should be as easy as pie. I believe that you will be able to approach Yuchi Ba and find out what exactly he is up to very soon, Elder.

“As for me, I have turned into a human being right now. Although I can pretend to be chaotic-blood demon, my real identity will certainly be revealed should I engage in combat!

“Therefore, I’m afraid that I cannot enter the Skeleton Island with you, Elder, but I will spend the time while you are inside gathering the latest intelligence here.

“This is about the whole plan. Do you have any suggestions, Elder?”

Li Yao slightly nodded.

He was not really a disobedient brutal demon from forty thousand years ago. Such stealth and infiltration operations were what he was best at. Naturally, he did not feel uncomfortable at all.

On his way here, Li Yao had been observing the slave-catching team of Void Turmoil City, too.

The slave catchers were all tough, well-trained demons who were mostly above the level of demon general. They were adept at combat in all terrains, and they could even spot the demons who were lurking in crevices.

If compared to the army of the Star Glory Federation, those slave catchers were definitely elite special forces.

The slave catchers who were sent out on regular missions were already so strong. How awesome would the real elites around the Fire Ant King be?

Besides, the Fire Ant King was a middle-level demon emperor who was adept at refining narcotic and berserker plants. He must have prepared a lot of drugs to boost his combat ability. There was no telling how terrifying his strength would be in a real battlefield at all.

According to Li Yao’s calculations, if he triggered the full strength of the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage, with the enhancement of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, he was naturally not scared of the Fire Ant King.

However, without resorting to his capability as a Cultivator and his crystal suit, it would be troublesome for him to fight against the Fire Ant King just based on the primeval force that he had only been practicing for half a month.

It was like two soldiers of similar physical strength, one with professional combat training and the other knowing nothing about it, engaged in a fight. The winner of the battle would be obvious.

Chi!

The Land Whales were all spurting out air currents from the top of their heads, wreathing the spacious square in a faint fog. The tentacles of the Land Whales interweaved with each other slowly into a web that led to the ground.

“Get down now! Get down now!”

All the cabins were opened. The slave catchers drove the prey away from the vehicles rudely, waving their electric whips. Rows of guards in black armor were standing afar together with the biochemical beasts, which were higher than many buildings.

All the biochemical beasts were silent, but the intimidating aura that they released was like enclosing high walls that were suffocating the prey.

On the backs of the biochemical beasts, on comfortable silk seats, hundreds of silver-blood demons were sitting and talking in a high mood.

They were all there to pick slaves.

The black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons were mostly raised up in nature. They were used to the free lifestyle in the wilderness, and now that they had been captured and locked in the narrow cabins for several days, they were more than pissed.

The moment they were released, the square was a mess. Cries, moans, screams, and roars resounded with each other. The entire square seemed like it would explode at any moment.

Li Yao observed the surroundings with great interest. On every corner of the square was an enormous pillar with vivid patterns painted on it. On the first pillar, many elegant-looking, obscure demons were bathed in divine lights. On the second pillar, some demons wearing glamorous armor were commanding an intense battle. On the third pillar were demons in simple hides or without protection at all slashing enemies that looked like noodles with their blades. On the fourth pillar, countless demons were mining and farming.

The four giant pillars were in gold, silver, bronze, and black respectively.

Li Yao was aware that the four pillars represented the saint-blood demons, the silver-blood demons, the bronze-blood demons, and the black-blood demons. They were the ‘Four Pillars’ of the entire demon race.

As for the chaotic-blood demons, they did not have a place in such a system.

Chapter 867: Defiant

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“The headhunters of the Skeleton Island and all other forces are now observing the newly-arrived slaves. The cruelest and most defiant ones will be picked by the headhunters from the Skeleton Island and become gladiators of the Skeleton Island.”

Jin Xinyue remind him for the last time, “Normal demons, if talented and having grown up in perilous areas that are frequented by demon beasts, might have the capability of high-level demon solider or low-level demon general in terms of physical strength and speed. However, they have never received special training before, and they do not know how to make the best use of their talents. In most cases, they are fighting without any skills by simply resorting to their physical strength and their aggressiveness. Please do bear that in mind, Elder, and don’t expose that you are actually far stronger than them.”

Li Yao nodded.

In fact, he did not know too many demon combat skills in the first place. The previous two battles he had been involved in were won merely based on his physical strength and his experience.

I can suppress my capability to one tenth the original and pretend to be a hunter who has been raised in the wilderness amid the demon beasts. I have the strength and speed between the high-level demon soldier and the low-level demon general, and I fight solely with my natural instincts, Li Yao thought to himself. Just consider the journey to the Skeleton Island as a special training session!

He thought for a moment and then asked Jin Xinyue in a low voice, “How can I be ‘defiant’ enough to catch the Skeleton Island’s attention?”

Jin Xinyue smiled and pointed her chin at Li Yao’s back. “Just like… them.”

Li Yao was dazed for a moment, when he heard shouts and yells not far away, along with the noises of a fierce fight.

Soon, a black shadow flew in front of them and crashed into the ground after a heavy landing.

It was a slave catcher in armor.

On the solid breastplate was a giant hole from which black blood was flowing out unstoppably.

Li Yao looked back and saw that more than ten muscular demons were roaring in outrage under the suppression of dozens of slave catchers!

The skin of the muscular demons was dark and shining, with bone pins everywhere on it, making their skin look like a natural armor. They were all more than three meters tall, and their shoulders were almost two meters wide. They appeared to be black iron towers that were stabbed into the ground.

On the head of every muscular demon was two thick bull horns. Their faces were also crimson like the faces of infuriated bulls!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

The bull-horned muscular demons bashed their chests crazily while red smoke popped out of their nostrils, as if their entire brain was on fire.

With their dull roars, their body size further expanded. Red brightness was surfacing on their skin, and all their muscles bulged out. Their bodies, which could not have been more athletic, seemed to be made of entire blocks of red bronze!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Their knees bent to the front. Their thick veins tied up their tights like giant boas while they stomped on the ground hard with their enormous hoofs, leaving cracks that looked like a spider web on the black rocks of the square!

Li Yao’s eyes suddenly shone. Those muscular demons seemed to be the ‘Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls’, one of the toughest types of bronze-blood demons!

Back when Li Yao was in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, he had browsed through the files of many demons. The Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls were among the toughest, most furious ones even taking all the bronze-blood demons into account. They were best known for their momentum and sturdiness. They had six stomachs in their body, four of which were used to digest normal food at an extremely high frequency as if they could perform the Art of the Swallowing Whale naturally while the other two stomachs could even devour and digest crystals and metals directly. In their battle frenzy, their skin would secrete the crystals and metal elements, forming a layer of solid, natural armor!

According to the tests of the Cultivators of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the natural armor of the Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls could withstand the head-on bombardment of a ‘Pure Sun’-level crystal cannon three times!

Although they were not very agile normally, their short-distance sprint when they were infuriated could approach or even surpass the speed of sound.

When they threw themselves over like cannonballs, they could easily smash a heavy crystal tank weighing more than a hundred tons away into the sky!

On the list of the most threatening demons in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls was in a higher place than many silver-blood demons!

With a careful look, Li Yao soon discovered that those muscular demons were not pure Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls.

The pure Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls had narrow, long tails with puffy hair on them, which were used to drive away the annoying bugs of the Blood Demon Sector.

But the tails of the muscular demons were thick and long, with scattered scales that were surrounded by a layer of vague flames.

When they were infuriated, they whipped their tails and straightened them like spears!

Those are… Kirin 1 tails!

Li Yao realized that those muscular demons boasted features of the Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls and a certain Kirin race simultaneously. They were clearly chaotic-blood demons.

Heavy manacles and shackles had been imposed upon the muscular demons. Many of the restraints were carved with glamorous stripes, indicating that they were magical equipment with barriers.

However, it was clear that such restraints were not enough to lock the bull-horned muscular demons. After only a moment, they were all broken apart.

On their journey here, they might have been injected with abundant narcotic drugs, But now that the effects of the drugs had passed, and they had been freed from the specially-made black iron prison cells, they were immediately infuriated and went out on a rampage.

Just now, one of the slave catchers was blown away by them directly in his carelessness.

However, those muscular demons had never received special training after all and were merely fighting with their natural instincts.

On the other hand, the slave-catchers were all experts adept at the secret arts of training, and they were all used to such fusses.

Very soon, the slave catches blocked the muscular demons from other chaotic-blood demons with stockades made of bones. Then some ten fat, caterpillar-like demon beasts were led to the front and asked to spurt yellow and brown liquids toward the disobedient newcomers.

The liquids were apparently very sticky. When the rampant muscular demons got in touch with them, their movement was immediately slowed down.

If the Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls start rushing, they will cause great damage. The slave catchers are trying to limit their zone of activity!

Li Yao immediately realized what was going on.

Huala! Huala!

An enormous web that was full of thorns was thrown toward the muscular demons!

Those muscular demons were not clearly not a bunch of mobs. They were probably from the same tribe. In the emergency, one of the demons who had a circle of white hair on his neck and a broken right horn, with three deep claw traces on his right eye, shouted and commanded the Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls into a battle formation that was tight on the outside and loose in the middle.

The four muscular demons at the edge opened their arms and took all the mucus and the web while the Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls in the inner circles started rushing and bringing up their speed under the cover of their companions!

Now is the time!

Li Yao looked at Jin Xinyue deeply. While everybody’s attention was focused on the bull-horned muscular demons, he made his way to the leader of the slave catchers quietly through the crowd.

His body was as magnificent as a fierce tiger, but his footsteps were as soft as a leopard. The panicked chaotic-blood demons were his best cover while he approached the target, escaping everyone’s attention.

The leader of the slave catchers was a bear demon more than 3.5 meters tall. According to Li Yao’s observations, his capability was in the middle level of the demon general state, but other than his horrifying physical strength, speed and agility seemed to be his biggest weakness.

With Li Yao’s capability, killing a middle-level demon general was as easy as slapping a fly.

However, he could only wield the strength and speed of a high-level demon soldier, since so many people were watching him, and he had to leave a deep impression on the bystanders!

Li Yao thought quickly and observed the situation of the battle. He calculated the speed of the muscular demons and the damage that they could possibly deal while he selected his weapons inside his brain.

Very soon, his fingers became soft and boneless, but his fingernails grew longer and longer with sharper and sharper edges, like five coldly blinking razor blades.

The Thousand Finger Soft Bone was a secret art that he had practiced for ten years that could allow the fingers to break the limits of joints and become unbelievably agile.

The Thousand Finger Soft Bone was the most fundamental body-building technique and did not rely on much spiritual energy. Besides, it was from the era of ancient Cultivators forty thousand years ago. Li Yao believed that few demons in the Blood Demon Sector could recognize it. It would not be odd if he claimed it to be a certain naturally-endowed technique.

Li Yao was aware that there were not too many chaotic-blood demons who had distinctive features of exactly two types of demons, such as the bull-horned muscular demons here.

Most of the chaotic-demons were often mixed with several vastly different features, some of which were so bizarre that there was no telling where they originated from at all.

What was awakened with the uncanny features was the disordered, strange talents.

Shua!

When he was trying to approach the innermost circle of the slave catchers, his presence was finally detected.

Two slave catchers were dazed for a moment and pointed their electric whips at him.

However, Li Yao already crouched and rushed toward them!

Chi! Chi!

He could not activate his top speed. The two electric whips fell on his back one after the other.

Although the spluttering electric arcs gave him no feeling other than tickling, he still pretended that he was foaming and cramping!

But his movement was not hindered by the attack. Instead, he held back the ‘excruciating pain’ and dashed past the two slave catchers while his left arm phantomized into a streak of black brightness. After two explosions, the two slave catchers immediately bulged their eyes and held their necks, but blood was already flooding out of the gaps of their fingers!

“Huh?”

Not far away, on the back of the few black behemoths that looked like mountains, the silver-blood demons wearing glamorous silk robes beamed with interest.

“His speed is fast, and his body is tough enough to resist two attacks of the electric whips?”

“His attack was quite fierce, mixed with the feeling style of several demon beasts. It is obvious that he must’ve been a hunter in the forest!”

His sharp and fierce attack naturally caused the counterattack of more slave catchers. Almost ten electric whips swept at Li Yao overwhelmingly!

This time, Li Yao did not dodge at all. Instead, he screamed in the middle of the dancing electric arcs, with a twitching face and a miserable expression, as if he were really suffering from great pain.

He had achieved his purpose.

By attracting the attention of almost ten slave catchers, he had already created a tiny opening for the muscular demons who had reached their most rampant point!

1. The Kirin ([tɕʰǐ.lǐn]; Chinese: 麒麟) is a mythical hooved chimerical creature known in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler.

Chapter 868: Gladiators

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

For the bull-horned muscular demons, the opening came at the right time. They were able to cause the most damage with their rushing speed. Just like ten raging crystal tanks, they knocked away several slave catchers in the blink of an eye before they crashed into the fat ‘caterpillars’!

Those caterpillars that were spurting out mucus were fat and clumsy. It was very difficult for them to turn quickly. They were the most typical examples of shooters and definitely no match for the muscular horns in a head-on clash. Very soon, they were all rolling on the ground with wounds all over their bodies.

The spluttering electric whips were hitting the muscular demons brutally, and the webs full of thorns cut deep into their skin armor. However, none of the hinderances could stop them from unleashing their savageness.

Influenced by them, many black-blood demons and chaotic demons captured together with them were seething. The square was like a calm ocean before the arrival of a storm!

Shua!

The guards of the Fire Ant King all unsheathed their blades and bared their teeth and claws, ready to go forward and take control of the situation at any moment.

Hooo!

The leader of the slave catchers, seeing that his subordinates were so useless, seemed to be greatly humiliated. Black wind suddenly circled around his arms and then spread out, blocking the collision of two bull-horned muscular demons like a high black wall!

BOOM!

Three rushing crystal trains seemed to have crashed. The bear demon fought two enemies entirely on his own, yet there was no sign that he was under any pressure. He grinned hideously while he grabbed the horns on the enemies’ head and forced them back. He then waved his arms hard, throwing the two muscular demons who were more than three meters tall and weighed several tons high into the sky!

It was a perfect demonstration of the unbelievable strength of a middle-level demon general!

The terrifying strength made the furious Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls all shiver for a moment. The leader of the slave catchers burst into laughter and leapt in front of the leader of the muscular demons who had a circle of white hair on his neck!

Hu! Hu!

Scorching air currents were surrounding both of them, rubbing until sparks seemed to be bursting out.

BOOM! BOOM!

The two equally strong demons that looked like two black iron towers pushed their arms against each other’s, which were expanding as if they were balloons being blown.

The black rocks below their feet exploded into pieces one after another, only to be bound by their intimidating aura and drift into the air, getting rid of the control of gravity!

The leader of the bull-horned muscular demons, due to the lack of professional training, was no match for the bear demon after all. The veins on his arms exploded one after another, with bloody mist spreading out!

But he simply bulged his eyes and gritted his teeth, carrying on the fight. When the pain was at its worst, even his broken horn seemed to be shedding blood!

“Get down now!” the bear demon roared. Under the suppression of the enormous strength, cracking noises were echoing on the straight spine and legs of the bull-horned muscular demon, indicating that his bones would be broken if he did not lower his head!

Right then, an abrupt change took place!

Nobody had noticed that Li Yao, who seemed to have ‘passed out’ after cramping and rolling on the ground for a while because of the slapping of almost ten electric whips, had rolled to the bear demon’s foot quietly.

Right now, the square was in an utter mess. Hundreds of feet, claws, and hoofs were moving here and there. He had already been drowned in the crowd of demons.

Right at the most crucial moment of the competition between the bear demon and the leader of the Red-Blooded Bronze Bulls, Li Yao suddenly jumped up from behind the bear demon and hugged the bear demon from the rear while he threw his left arm to the front, extending his middle finger and his index finger into the bear demon’s left eye!

“Ahhh!”

The bear demon did not expect that somebody would ambush him from behind. Suffering from the sharp pain, he shook his body hard!

Chi!

Li Yao pretended that he had been knocked away by the attack and vomited a mouthful of blood, but he took the opportunity to pull the bear demon’s left eyeball out!

The bear demon’s head was dizzy due to the excruciating pain. Because of the distraction, his arms were entirely twisted after two cracking noises by the leader of the bull-horned muscular demons.

The leader roared. The skin armor on his body exploded, revealing muscles that were as red as fire. He lowered his head, pushed forward, and raised the bear demon up with his horn!

The square was immediately caught in chaos.

The guards of the Fire Ant King finally entered the field to restore order.

The guards were mostly the brutal demons from various places around the Blood Demon Sector who were guilty of major crimes. They were much stronger than the slave catchers, and the electric arcs released from their whips were multiple times more dazzling, too.

Li Yao lay on the ground dutifully, as if he were suffering from internal bleeding because of the bear demon’s final attack. He simply held his head while the electric whips were slapping everybody randomly.

However, his mind was clearer than ever. He released his telepathic thoughts and observed his surroundings.

He saw that, on the back of a black giant beast, several silver-blood demons were pointing at him and whispering to each other. There was a bizarre-shaped badge of a skull on their chests.

Jin Xinyue had mentioned that it was the symbol of the Skeleton Island.

I believe this is ‘defiant’ enough, is it not? Li Yao thought to himself.

If the Skeleton Island was still not interested in him after everything he had done just now, he would have to run away first and figure out a way to approach Yuchi Ba, the master of Skeleton Island, more straightforwardly.

…

Three hours later, in the southwest of the Void Turmoil Peninsula, several enormous flying bat rays were gliding toward the black ocean.

The body of the flying bat rays was broad and thin. They looked like hundreds-of-meters-long flying carpets. Many demons were crammed on them right now.

Li Yao was sitting at the center of the back of a flying bat ray, with almost five chains tying him up. The thorns on the chains had pierced into his skin and flesh deeply. After every tiny moment, dazzling electric arcs would burst out of the chains.

For him, the electric current of such a degree was no more exciting than picking his ears.

But he still showed them some respect by grimacing for quite a while.

A lot of black-blood demons and chaotic-blood demons were sitting around him. They were all the rebels just now who had dared to fight back.

However, the tough demons would rather cram into the crowd than approach Li Yao. They eyed him as if he were a terrifying monster.

After all, not everybody had the capability to grab the eyeball of a middle-level demon general.

Two silver-blood demons were sitting at the front of the flying bat rays, observing Li Yao with great interest. Greedy chuckles could be heard every now and then. They seemed to be calculating how many entertaining matches the tough demon could join and how much income he could bring to the Skeleton Island.

Very soon, the Skeleton Island was right in front of their eyes.

If the Void Turmoil Peninsula was a tusk that pierced from the continent to the ocean, then the Skeleton Island was a drop of blood at the tip of the tusk.

Looking from the sky, the Skeleton Island was really a deformed skull. The upper half of the island had a lake and a swamp, like a black eye and a white one, and the lower half of the island consisted of interconnected sharp rocks that looked like the teeth of a skeleton.

The demon race worshipped the idea of survival of the fittest. Watching and even being part of a pit fight was the most fashionable sport in the demon race. The silver-blood demons who considered themselves patricians would have a match every few days to show their valiance and their ruthlessness.

Therefore, during the thirty-thousand-year reign of the Demon Beast Empire, various kinds of arenas and abattoirs had been established across its territory. Many relics were even kept to this day.

The best example to prove the popularity of wrestling in the Demon Beast Empire would be the ‘Supreme Emperor’, who had been a gladiator in the beginning but established the Star Ocean Imperium and led the renaissance of mankind!

Arenas were the most important training and socializing places for the demons. It was not just a location where matches were held. There were also luxury facilities such as training rooms, medication chambers, and clubs.

The most advanced arenas of the Blood Demon Sector were in the capitals of the four most powerful kingdoms and the headquarters of the Pantheon of Demons.

However, Void Turmoil City was the center of trade for slaves and strengthening drugs. Every day, countless silver-blood demons would go there to pick slaves and purchase strengthening drugs. While they stayed in the city, watching the matches in the arena was great entertainment.

Therefore, the Skeleton Island was among the best ones even taking all the arenas of the Blood Demon Sector into consideration. It also boasted a large, special experimental field where the toughest gladiators were used to test the combat ability of strong biochemical beasts.

“Now that you have arrived in the Skeleton Island, don’t have inappropriate thoughts anymore!”

The flying bat rays lowered their altitude and slowly landed on the Skeleton Island. One of the staff of the Skeleton Island stood up, lashing his electric whip, before he shouted, “Take a look around. You are now surrounded by a vast ocean in which the most brutal demon beasts are waiting for food day and night. There is no way that you can escape!

“However, if you are smart enough to show your bravery on the Skeleton Island instead, chances are that you might be able to change your fate forever!

“In the past, you were the lowliest black-blood demons and chaotic-blood demons who made a living by turning over every stone on your way in the wilderness. What kind of life was that?

“Just now, your aggressiveness and brutality earned you a minor chance, but it remains to be seen whether or not you can grasp it!

“From now on, you will take the most powerful strengthening drugs and receive the enlightenment of the real experts on the Skeleton Island. What you are going to do is no different from what you are familiar with in the jungles. Hunting and killing!

“After every victory, you will be able to enjoy delicious food that you’ve never tasted before. You will also have access to the strengthening drugs and training techniques of a higher level!

“After five victories, you will be able to regain your freedom. The master of the island will meet you in person and refer you to powerful nobles. You will have a meteoric rise!

“Hehe. If that is still not enough for you, then let me tell you something else. If you fight here obediently and win five battles, even your family will regain freedom, too!”

At the beginning, most of the demons were rather lethargic and not interested in the propaganda of the silver-blood demon, but hearing his last sentence, all of the demons raised up their heads, excitement beaming out of their eyes.

The hairy mammal demons, the scaly reptilian demons, and even the weirdly-shaped, ugly insect demons were all filled with hope when they heard ‘family’!

Li Yao observed the reactions of the demons in secret. Their humane countenance impressed him and cast him into confusion again.

Chapter 869: New Blood

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“Do you… mean it?” a chaotic-blood demon covered in scales, with a lower body resembling that of a boa and a sharp bone blade on his right forearm, asked.

His tongue was exceptionally long and bifurcated, making it difficult for him to talk, but Li Yao could easily make out the earnestness in his words.

The staff of the Skeleton Island smiled and said slowly, “The Skeleton Island has grown into the greatest arena of Void Turmoil City with nothing except one word—’rules’. Whoever wins five battle will be granted freedom. It is a promise that the master of this island made to the Fire Ant King. Even if you do not believe in the master of the island, you should at least believe in the Fire Ant King!”

The staff glanced over them and continued. “On the Skeleton Island, there are also a lot of free gladiators. They have won five victories and are free to come and go. If you are unwilling to be the subordinates of the nobles, you can stay on the Skeleton Island as tutors or to join the battles again. One victory is enough for you to earn more than you have earned in the last ten years! When you meet them, you can ask them if it is true!”

Maybe because they believed his words, or maybe because they realized that the Skeleton Island was a secluded place with nowhere to run to, the obstreperous demons finally calmed down and landed on an empty field at the southeast of the Skeleton Island.

The demons on the flying bay rays walked down one after another. Only a few of them were still secured in rattling shackles.

Li Yao discovered that, on another flying bay ray not far away, the ten or so mutated Red Blood Bronze Bulls were wearing the same shackles as his. They were staggering down under the watch of the vigilant staff.

The muscular demon who had a circle of white hair on his neck and a broken horn sensed Li Yao’s observation. He grinned at Li Yao, revealing teeth that were even larger than Li Yao’s toes. He then raised the shackles on his hands. There was kindness in his smile, but there was more misery.

Li Yao raised his shackles, too, and waved them at the demon.

Right then, the two workers walked to Li Yao with great wariness and observed him for a long time before they opened their mouths and said, “Hey. You must have a clear understanding about the environment here now. It is better to try your luck in securing five victories than to escape, isn’t it?”

Li Yao looked around. The Skeleton Island was essentially a primitive forest that was ten times more gloomy than the Devil Flood Dragon Island where he had fought before. The trees were standing like swords, sabers, and spears. At the end of the forest, the roars of the ocean were coming over.

The electromagnetic field of the Void Turmoil Peninsula was extremely chaotic. Invisible turbulence was everywhere above the ocean, too. For the demons who were able to fly, it was easy for them to get caught in the turbulence and fall into the ocean.

In the eyes of normal demons, it was indeed a devastating situation without any escape.

The worker spoke again. “We have been informed that you also have a sister. It will be a clean death if you get killed in the ocean when you run away, but your sister will be tortured for all eternity because of you. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

Li Yao secretly chuckled. He was certain that few, if any, in the entire Blood Demon Sector was clever enough to torture Jin Xinyue.

But on the surface, he simply nodded.

“Excellent.” The worker was quite satisfied. “Judging from your attack, I can say that you are a tough one. But the years of hunting in the wilderness were too much of a waste of your talents. Fighting on the Skeleton Island, although dangerous, gives you access to strong techniques and drugs as well as the enlightenment of real experts. I believe that your capability will improve quickly!

“After you win five battles, both you and your sister will embrace a bright future. With the protection of the Skeleton Island and Void Turmoil City, nobody would dare lay their finger on you even if you walk out in daylight! Have you thought through everything?”

Li Yao nodded for the third time.

The worker observed him for a long time and noticed nothing wrong on his face. Finally, he chose to believe Li Yao temporarily and threw a key over. “Unlock the shackles yourself!”

The key was in the shape of a frozen bug, but after it reached Li Yao’s hand, the bug was gradually woken up and wriggled about. Li Yao was quite amazed.

Although Li Yao could break the shackle after a slight struggle, the lock produced in the secret arts of the demon race was still a big eye-opener for him.

Very soon, all the dangerous newcomers had been educated by the staff. Most of the demons accepted their new reality, but a tiny proportion of them were still on a rampage waywardly.

They were mostly black-blood demons.

The black-blood demons were the lowest class of the demon race. Most of them were highly unintelligent. Without training and mutation, their intelligence might not be at the level of a seven-year-old despite their enormous size.

Therefore, it was difficult for the black-blood demons to understand the coercion of the workers, and they were still struggling hard.

But very soon, dozens of other workers sprayed narcotic drugs on them, tied them up, and sent them somewhere else for refinement.

There were standard procedures on the Skeleton Island for the processing of new blood. Very soon, the newcomers were brought to different temples made of giant, green rocks inside the primitive forest.

Li Yao noticed that the most dangerous fellows had been arranged into the same spot. It was possible that they were deemed to be the most attractive ‘items’ for the arena and were worth special treatment.

However, if Jin Xinyue was right all the time, they would also be the most noteworthy ‘candidates’ for the Blade of Chaos.

A damp smell filled the temple’s interior. A few shallow pools had been dug deep inside the temple, in which several octopus-like demons were soaking.

Their eight tentacles were holding different drugs and medical facilities, and they were examining the bodies of the newcomers, checking how strong they were and whether or not they had been heavily wounded on the trip there.

With the help of the mental devil, Li Yao had already performed a series of minor modification to his body. He had built a ‘flesh membrane’ with the primeval cells inside his body and covered up the ‘second brain’ at the end of the spine. Therefore, he was not worried that anybody would find out that his body was not right.

Other than that, his left hand could grow a sharp claw, and the back of his hand was covered in vague scales, which were the obvious features of a chaotic-blood demon.

Of course, if it were the experts of the silver-blood demons who were performing a very thorough examination on his body, there was still risk that he would be found out.

However, gladiators were nothing but expendables in this place. Why bother with such thorough examinations?

As it turned out, since there were too many newcomers waiting to be examined, the doctors merely checked their appearance and collected one drop of blood after confirming that they were not wounded on the way there.

Li Yao pushed a drop of blood mixed with primeval cells to his fingertip, which was collected as he expected. Very soon, he was let through.

Within a side room at the rear of the temple, four torches as thick as arms were burning furiously on the walls. Their warmth relaxed all the demons whose nerves had been tightened for a long time.

Li Yao could tell that the fuel of the torches had a lot of pacification constituents that were not only working on his nerves but also manipulating his mind directly. Recalling the narcotic and berserker plants that the Fire Ant King planted, he could not help but feel alarmed.

In the war between mankind and the demon race, human beings were better at the studies of spiritual energy while demons distinguished themselves in cytology. In terms of the breeding of various kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and the refinement of strengthening drugs, demons maintained a slim advantage. At the very least, that was the case in the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector.

Very soon, many servants who were also chaotic-blood demons brought them buckets of bright green drugs. Depending on their body size, the dosage of the drugs was different.

One of the workers gestured for them to drink all the drugs.

Naturally, Li Yao would not obey the command so easily. He extended his thumb to the drugs first and absorbed some of the drugs with his skin into his body for analysis.

“The constituents of the drugs are rather complicated. Some of them are meant to recover the strength and repair internal and external injuries. But the majority of them are designed to bombard the cells.”

The mental devil savored the drugs and said, “The purpose of such drugs, I’m afraid, is to stimulate the potential that is hidden deep inside the cells as much as possible so that the demons can fully release their savageness and boost their combat ability in the shortest amount of time possible.”

“Are there side effects?” Li Yao asked.

The mental devil chuckled and said, “Any training has side effects. When you punch a target, your fist will somewhat hurt, too. It is just a matter of degree.

“The drugs are very delicately made. A lot of the constituents inside can help stabilize and repair the body. The side effects of the drugs should be minimized.

“That’s rather strange. By my estimation, the ingredients for the constituents that can help stabilize and repair the body should be extremely expensive. Why are they used on the gladiators who are nothing more than expendables? It doesn’t seem to be a fair deal from any perspective.”

Li Yao smiled. “Of course, it is not a fair deal to use them on gladiators, but it is very worthwhile if they are used on the candidates of the Blade of Chaos!”

He stopped hesitating and chugged all the liquids inside the bucket!

BOOM!

A bucket of scorching magma seemed to have poured into his throat and leaked into all his veins, nerves, and internal organs through his stomach. All his nerve endings and cells were broken through and unleashed boundless strength!

Hu! Hu! Hu! Hu!

With the help of the mental devil, all the essence in every drop of the drugs was injected into the primeval cells precisely, making the mitochondria inside the cells even larger in size, which meant that they could output energy at a higher efficiency. The form of the cells was more stable than before, too!

On the surface, Li Yao’s skin was bright gold, as if clusters of air currents were spurting out of his pores nonstop, wreathing him in an unpredictable, phantom-like aura!

The rest of the demon drank the strengthening drugs. In the middle of the furious roars, they underwent far more unbelievable mutations than what Li Yao had experienced!

Chapter 870: Information Bugs

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Li Yao focused most of his attention on the dozen muscular demons who were descendants of Red Blood Bronze Bulls. After drinking a full bucket of strengthening drugs, their bones emitted explosive sounds as their bodies expanded abruptly. The horns on their heads further protruded out, too. A few thick and hard spurts burst out of their elbows and knees. Black, shining lumps appeared at the center of their foreheads, too, making them look like the heavy battering rams.

It was not hard to imagine that, with such fatal weapons, their damage when they were charging at full speed would be even more appalling.

Surrounded by scorching steam, it was almost impossible for their tightened skin to envelop their bulging muscles. Explosive strength was running inside their veins like thunderous tides.

The muscular demons were all overjoyed upon seeing the mutations that they had gone through.

A lot of changes had happened to the other demons, too. The half-human-half-snake demon who was on the same flying bat ray as Li Yao had a wider and larger blade limb with jagged edges. Metallic colors were vaguely shining on the limb, which almost surpassed the speed of sound when its owner only lightly waved it.

The desire for strength was almost a natural instinct for the demon race. Sensing that their potential was flooding out like a volcanic eruption, the demons all forgot what a harsh environment they were in and could not wait to warm up their new bodies.

However, a moment later, a lot of demons fell over in dizziness.

The few supervisors waved their hands, and a large batch of servants brought over delicious-smelling mountains of meat.

“You have just taken strengthening drugs that cleansed your veins and nerves and gave you a rebirth,” the supervisor said naturally. “Although your body is stronger now, the process also consumed a lot of your energy. You must have food immediately. Feel at home. Eat until you are satisfied!

“This is your first time eating after triggering your potential and the foundation for your newfound strengthening, so you must try to have enough food!

“If you really cannot have any more meat, you can have a few fruits that are placed aside. They are helpful for digestion!”

Most low-level demons had never enjoyed a proper meal back when they were in their hometown. On their bumpy trip to this place, to deplete their energy, they had not been granted much food, either. They were already nearly starved, and now that they had been told that they could eat however much food they liked, none of them could contain themselves any longer. A few hasty demons had already lunged close and dug into the mountains of the meat.

Li Yao was not courteous, either. Ever since he arrived in the Blood Demon Sector, he had basically been living as a vegetarian and never had a satisfying meal. His body, after being modified by the mental devil, had a much greater consumption rate of energy than before. He was barely able to make ends meet.

Although the food of the Skeleton Island was crudely made, there were all kinds of demon beast meat that contained a huge amount of spiritual energy. Li Yao was not the type of person to be picky about the flavor of food, either. After activating the Art of the Swallowing Whale, he simply poured all the food into his mouth as if it were a bottomless hole. A roasted whale was devoured down to the skeleton in only a few seconds before all the bones were chewed casually and swallowed.

While he was fine without eating, now that he had the chance to be a glutton, his taste buds were stimulated, and his appetite soared. Li Yao’s eyes were shining, and heave noises were echoing from his throat. He was like a prehistoric beast wandering amid the food as if nobody was around.

Other demons looked at him as if he were a hungry ghost reincarnated. Many of them quickly moved further away and kept their distance from him, fearing that he would mistake them for food as well when he was enjoying his food too much.

Not far away, the bull-horned muscular demons were still devouring the food in front of them. Occasionally, they raised their head and grinned at Li Yao when they saw the empty wood trays in front of him.

The meal lasted more than an hour. There was no telling how much food they had eaten, but the bones aside were already piled up into a hill.

The supervisor put on a delighted face, too, as he said, “You’ve all seen the benefits of joining the Skeleton Island as gladiators, haven’t you? More furious strengthening drugs and more abundant food, which can turn you into real experts, are waiting for you!

“However, whether you are qualified to enjoy them or not depends on your performance tomorrow!

“Tomorrow will be your debut. Your life and death will count on yourselves!

“A batch of information bugs will be given out to you. Every information bug contains the battle experiences of countless experts. You are permitted to use them for one night. For the sake of your own life, I hope you can try to retrieve more battle experience from them. Haha. Hahahaha!”

A few workers pulled over more than ten large tanks that were filled with a bright green liquid in which countless objects that looked like pineapples and cocoons were soaking.

Li Yao knew that they were the information bugs that the demon race produced with their biochemical technology. They were essentially biochemical cerebrums that could only keep or release memories. Similar to the jade chips of human beings, they could store a lot of information.

Besides, the information bugs could be connected directly to the cranial nerves and transmit the information at a much higher efficiency than jade chips.

Dense lines of instructions had been carved on the tanks. The workers explained that the tanks were classified according to different focuses, such as speed and strength, to the illiterate gladiators.

For the strength-type ones such as the bull-horned muscular demons, it was more suitable for them to pick the battle experience that concentrated on physical strength.

As for the half-human-half-snake demon, his best choice would be the battle experience that highlighted agility and speed.

The newly-arrived gladiators, despite their illiteracy, knew that the coming battle would certainly be extremely brutal. More battle experience absorbed right now meant more chance to survive tomorrow. Therefore, nobody wasted any time and simply selected a tank that was pertinent to their advantages. They took out a few information bugs from inside and walked aside for their training.

Li Yao’s main weapon right now was the sharp claw on his left arm. He selected an information bug that focused on claw attack skills and sat cross-legged in an empty corner before he stuck the information bug to his forehead.

He held two soft slices of flesh on the two sides of the information bug and squeezed them slightly. A few tiny tentacles that looked like the antennas of a snail immediately protruded out of the information bug and pierced into his forehead.

Streams of information immediately flooded into his brain, forming hazy illusions.

His soul seemed to be absorbed into a whole new world inside the information bug.

He was now a swift wolf demon on a desolate battlefield fighting an intense battle against a tiger demon.

The two front claws of the wolf demon were particularly thick. The talons were like shining sabers and even triggering vague auras that extended to a meter away with earsplitting noises.

Other than that, the battle was rather boring. Both the wolf demon and the tiger demon were at the level of demon general. Naturally, their combat was full of flaws in Li Yao’s eyes.

But Li Yao greatly enjoyed the battle nonetheless.

As the saying goes, if three men are walking together, one of them is bound to be good enough to be my teacher. Li Yao did not know much about the combat skills of the demon race. Those mediocre demons were all performing the most fundamental attacks. It was a great chance for Li Yao to learn.

Li Yao never overlooked the importance of the fundamental knowledge. Between two points, a straight line was always the shortest. It had always been Li Yao’s belief that the core of a successful fight was to exert the most force across the shortest distance with the minimum interface in the shortest amount of time, which was why he preferred simple weapons such as drills to the fancier moves.

The simple fighting between the wolf demon and the tiger demon gave him a great opportunity to study the most fundamental attack skills between such demons.

As he watched, Li Yao’s computational ability soared. The wolf demon and the tiger demon seemed to have both become a series of data. By analyzing the speed and angle of their attacks, Li Yao rectified their moves and corrected the flaws that they showed while he summarized the useful points of their combat. He gained endless experience from the process!

Half an hour later, Li Yao took off the information bug and smiled in great satisfaction.

He had fully absorbed the battle experience of the wolf demon and the tiger demon. Right now, he could perform exactly the same moves that the two demons did in an even sharper, faster, and more flawless way!

Li Yao threw the information bug back and picked up a second information bug, continuing his studies.

At that moment, other demons were still groping and struggling in the world of the first information bug.

Li Yao could understand the battle experience stored inside the information bugs within a breath. But for the rest of the demons, it was like a boundless ocean. It was possible that they would not be able to grasp one information bug until quite a few hours later.

Time flew while they were training. Without them knowing, it was already late at night. The workers provided plenty of food for the newly-arrived gladiators, who were allowed to enjoy it at any time. There was even a vacant training field nearby where they could put the battle experience they had just learned into practice.

Li Yao absorbed the battle experience contained in more than thirty information bugs greedily. Besides learning tremendous fundamental moves of attack of the demon race, Li Yao made an interesting discovery.

It is rather odd that all the stored battles are between demons. Some of them are even between bronze-blood demons and silver-blood demons!

On second thought, this is rather weird. Back in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, human beings train themselves with the method of ‘virtual combat’, too. However, the opponents in the virtual battles were mostly demon beasts and demons. They rarely attack each other.

By the same logic, since the Blood Demon Sector’s major enemy right now is the Heaven’s Origin Sector, shouldn’t they set human beings as the targets in the virtual battles?

However, if the Skeleton Island has always been a secret boot camp of the Blade of Chaos, then everything will make sense.

For the low-level demons such as the chaotic-blood demons and the black-blood demons, they must be full of reverence for the high-level demons such as the silver-blood demons after thousands of years of brainwashing. Even if they do burst into fury, it is unlikely that they will attack the silver-blood demons.

But right now, through the information bugs, they will discover that the silver-blood demons are made of flesh and blood just like themselves. The silver-blood demons will bleed, scream, and die miserably, too!

They can even ‘slay’ a silver-blood demon with their own hands in the virtual combat!

Such an experience could disrupt their veneration for the silver-blood demons and the bronze-demons completely!

Chapter 871: Lightning Dungeon Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

 

Li Yao was certain that the methods through which the Skeleton Island trained the gladiators were unusual. Normal arenas could never afford so many strengthening drugs and so much demon beast meat in order to improve the capability of the gladiators. Furthermore, they would never teach mere gladiators such lethal techniques.

However, was the matter related to Yuchi Ba, the owner of the Skeleton Island, or were there actually more secrets to it?

He would have to wait and crack the problems patiently.

After all, he could absorb abundant strengthening drugs and battle experience, not to mention the endless, free food that he could refill his energy with. He would not mind at all if he had to stay for a while longer.

During the night, Li Yao snatched almost a hundred information bugs to absorb the battle experience inside.

Naturally, the number was much higher than what the other demons took.

However, in the past, some of the gladiators were ambitious and unwilling to take their time to learn new things. They thought that they could absorb enough battle experience and become an invincible expert overnight.

The supervisors naturally considered Li Yao to be one of such ignorant fools, but they were too lazy to remind or stop him.

After all, all the gladiators were the bottom-level expendables, being shipped to the Skeleton Island on a daily basis. The vast majority of them would be killed in their very first battle. Why would the supervisors waste their precious time on the gladiators?

…

At noon in the next day, after a sleepless night, the newly-arrived gladiators all knew that a great test was coming close. They were all pacing back and forth anxiously. The bull-horned muscular demons were even breathing out white steam in their excitement.

The supervisors brought buckets of strengthening drugs to them again. By Li Yao’s analysis, most of the drugs were for the purpose of mending the body. The Skeleton Island must have been trying to restore their bodies as much as possible after a night of crazy training.

After an earsplitting whistle outside, they were brought to fully-enclosed tanks that had sharp thorns on the outside. The vehicles seemed to be combinations of hedgehogs and tortoises and were quite awe-inspiring when other people looked at it.

Through the ventilation tubes of the tanks, the overwhelming roars not far away could vaguely be heard.

Li Yao knew that it was an arena of the Skeleton Island.

After a bumpy, ten-minute ride, they were driven off the vehicles by the guards of the Skeleton Island, only to find themselves in a stenchful arsenal.

Rusted weapons were hanging on the walls on the two sides. There were not only bone blades, bone spears, and acid launchers, which were the demons’ favorites, but also chainswords, vibration sabers, and heated axes from the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

However, the weapons of human beings were mostly deformed to the point of destruction, with stains of blood on them. They were possibly trophies that the demons captured during the countless battles.

Li Yao thought for a moment and picked three short, tiny bone spears. He hid them inside his palm as if they were light, sharp daggers.

Huala!

At the front, a bronze gate on which the scenes of countess demons fighting with demon beasts was opened. The first thing to greet the new gladiators were the screams and yells full of brutality and bloodthirst that were surging toward them like tides. Then, stinky smells of blood bashed everybody like iron hammers.

The noises and the stench patrolled inside the narrow arsenal like two invisible beasts.

Li Yao sensed that the legs of many chaotic-blood demons were already shaking.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Behind everybody, the fully-armed guards of the Skeleton Island yelled maliciously, with acid guns in their hands.

The gladiators looked at each other in bewilderment and hesitated. Li Yao was the first to stride out of the room with his head held high.

He narrowed his eyes and observed the arena casually.

It was more than five hundred meters long and three hundred meters wide, similar to a standard crystal ball arena. The stands on the two sides were of different levels and all made of obsidian. Right now, there was not a vacant seat, and everybody was shouting and cheering.

The west side was the stand for ordinary spectators, where the bizarre-looking, hideous bronze-blood demons were seated. As the warrior class of the demon race, the only significance of their life was to fight. Watching and participating in a game in an arena was almost their sole entertainment.

On the east side, the obsidian seats were replaced by the Gold Stream Stones, which were embedded with golden threads, and the open auditorium turned into independent luxury box with telescopes consisting of more than ten lenses and decorated by glamorous metals and gems.

In the sky of the arena, countless enormous eyeballs that had grown wings were flying. Known as ‘Flying Spirit Eyes’, they would send the pictures that they captured directly to every box while they flew randomly on the field in rattling noises. Such unnecessary devices were actually only meant to demonstrate the superiority of their users—the silver-blood demons who had come to Void Turmoil City for slave trading and drug deals.

Li Yao grinned as an absurd idea suddenly occurred to him. How many silver-blood demons could he kill before he ran out of his strength if he went on a killing spree without bothering about anything?

Very soon, Li Yao’s eyes stopped at the center of the VIP auditorium.

It was a platform that was slightly protruded, like the tongue of a devil that was stuck out of the mouth.

It was the place where the most honorable seats were arranged.

Right now, a muscular demon more than four meters tall was sitting majestically on the glitzy silk seat. He was like a rhino that was wearing a bright golden armor, and his face were entirely covered up by a horn that pointed high into the sky.

He was Yuchi Ba, the owner of the Skeleton Island!

Around Yuchi Ba, almost ten demons with cold eyes were standing. They were all his bodyguards who used to be gladiators as black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons.

Is Yuchi Ba the leader of the Blade of Chaos?

However, according to the intelligence, he is an out-and-out silver-blood demon, a noble. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been authorized to establish such a huge arena at all!

A pure silver-blood demon has ended up being the leader of the Blade of Chaos? What is he up to exactly?

While Li Yao was deep in thought, shining electric arcs were suddenly triggered on the black, bloodstained ground of the arena. Amid spluttering noises, the electric arcs interweaved with each other into bushes of thorns.

“Lightning Dungeon! Lightning Dungeon! Lightning Dungeon!”

Meatballs riddled with holes were floating everywhere in the area up and down like balloons. Right now, the holes blew out intense air currents along with sharp, earsplitting noises.

Incited by the meatballs, the bronze-blood demons who were sitting on the west tide were all shouting and yelling crazily.

The silver-blood demons sitting on the east side, on the other hand, were silent and did not bother to even open their mouths.

According to Jin Xinyue’s introduction, the arena on the Skeleton Island was not a simple field of fighting but installed with a lot of traps and rune arrays.

The so-called ‘Lightning Dungeon’ meant that electric arcs would be released in the entire arena.

Naturally, the electric arcs would not be too powerful, and the victims would only be paralyzed briefly when they were touched.

However, the opponents of the gladiators were mostly demon beasts of the thunder class. They were not scared of the electric arcs at all, and they could even absorb the energy of the electric arcs and release it in the next moment!

Huala!

After all the new gladiators had entered the field, the bronze gate slowly closed behind them. Then, a few workers poured thick, stinky blood all over their bodies.

The blood was mixed with a lot of irritative drugs that were designed to draw the attention of demon beasts. Otherwise, the flocks of demon beasts might have attacked each other instead of them.

Dozens of bronze gates were established all around the circular arena, through which hundreds of hesitant new gladiators were forced out by the guards from inside. They were immediately at a loss when they saw the frantic audience all around them.

A guard of the Skeleton Island announced the rules to them.

As newly-arrived gladiators, they were not qualified to fight a game alone, nor did they have any shining points that the audience might find interesting. Therefore, they were not really heroes of the show but merely jesters who were responsible for warming up the atmosphere before the heroes ascended.

Since they were all jesters, nobody was expecting a marvelous performance. It was mainly for the fun of liveliness as there were a lot of them.

The rule was simple. The new gladiators were all on the south side of the arena, and a lot of demon beasts of the thunder class would be released from the north. Their goal was to pass through the blockade of the demon beasts and enter the only bronze gate to the north.

But Li Yao knew the difficulty of the challenge.

The most crucial part of the game was not how to fight the demon beasts of the thunder class in a battlefield full of electric arcs but how to enter the bronze gate after they arrived at the north of the arena.

The gate was very narrow and could allow few demons to pass at one time.

Even if a large batch of demons successfully crossed the arena, they would still be crammed out of the bronze gate. If they were all in a hurry to go into the bronze gate without making concession, it was inevitable that they would start attacking each other, and those who might have a chance to get away would be captured and slaughtered by the demon beasts at the last moment.

Wu—

Prolonged horns sounded all around the arena. The dozen bronze gates in the north were pulled open by chains that were as thick as arms, from which countless confused demon beasts staggered out.

Among them, there were ‘Thunder Snakes’, which had a rooster head and a snake body with wings on the abdomen. There were also ‘Soul-Splitting Behemoths’, which were as tall as mountains with sharp spikes on their back. For most of the demon beasts, Li Yao did now know their names at all!

Chi!

Invisible webs were released from above the arena in case the infuriated beasts jumped to the auditorium.

However, it was unspoken rule for the entertainment of arena games that every audience should be prepared to fight a demon beast or a gladiator because the auditorium entailed a certain degree of danger.

For the demon race, the unexpected danger was also one of the reasons why such an activity was so thrilling.

The demon beasts were probably at the mercy of the tamers because of the narcotic drugs injected into them. However, right now, the stinky smell of blood on the bodies of the gladiators woke up the lust for killing deep inside their hearts. Shaking their heads slightly, all the demon beasts uttered bloodthirsty roars while they accelerated under the stimulation of the electric arcs and rushed toward their prey!

“Hoooooooooo!”

The feast of slaughtering had begun!

Chapter 872: Precise Control

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Watching the beast tide that was surging close like a tsunami and feeling the earth that was shaking under the stomping hoofs, the faces of many new gladiators blanched.

They were faced with a tough decision.

To enter the bronze gate at the north, they had to pass through the infuriated demon beasts, but those who led the charge would certain be attacked by the demon beasts collectively.

However, if they simply stayed behind, hoping that other gladiators would take the blow for them, those in the lead might pass through the bronze gate earlier than them, and as there were fewer and fewer gladiators in the arena, those who stayed behind would be the only prey for the demon beasts.

The more they hesitated, the less likely they could survive!

Finally—

The dozen bull-horned muscular demons could not hold it any longer. Under the command of their leader, they tensed their muscles and summoned the most furious auras around them. They lowered their magnificent bodies and accelerated to the maximum, having a head-on clash with the beast tide like a dozen heavy crystal tanks!

The electric arcs that were dancing crazily on the ground whipped them brutally, breaking their skin and making them bleed. Yet, they seemed to feel none of the pain, and their speed was barely affected. Li Yao secretly clicked his tongue in amazement. The talents of the demons were indeed much more impressive than those of human beings.

BOOM!

The collision of the bull-horned muscular demons and the demon beasts resulted in a series of earsplitting explosions. Dozens of demon beasts were knocked into the sky. Several of them were even blown to the auditorium, only to be ripped into shreds by the bloodthirsty bronze-blood demons, the more uncivilized of whom were even biting the meat of the demon beasts on the spot. It was indeed an appalling scene.

“Let’s go! Move forward!”

Encouraged by the bull-horned muscular demons, the other new gladiators felt their blood boiling, too, knowing that the only outcome if they waited was death and that they could only fight for their survival by marching forward unstoppably!

Those who were selected to be gladiators were the disobedient ones among the slaves in the first place. Now that they all made up their mind to fight, they looked even more daunting than the demon beasts.

In that moment, all the new gladiators charged at the enemies at the highest speed possible like arrows just released from a bow!

A chaotic battle was thus begun.

There were almost a thousand demon beasts of the thunder class, and the environment of the Lightning Dungeon was most in their favor. The Thunder Snakes, the Lightning Salamanders, and the Soul-Splitting Behemoths were all releasing dazzling electric arcs incessantly, casting the new gladiators into shock, before they waved their sharp claws and teeth and ripped their prey into pieces.

The new gladiators went on a rampage, too. They fully utilized the battle experience that they had just perceived last night and threw themselves into the beast tide like nails!

The intense stench of blood soared into the sky, stimulating the nerves of the audience. All the bronze-blood demons were intoxicated. Hideous grins and cheers mixed with each other and rose up, turning into bloody, dark clouds that were wriggling and twisting in midair.

Li Yao was among the last few demons to move forward.

In his eyes, the demon beasts of the thunder class were merely a bunch of hens and hares that were not worth mentioning at all.

However, seeing such a chaotic battle, he suddenly thought of something and decided to try a new fighting technique.

My combat ability is on par with that of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the demon emperors, but in the war between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector, and even in the great war between the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Imperium of True Human Beings, the decisive factor will be the confrontation of billions of soldiers.

On the land, below the ocean, and in the endless sea of stars, countless warriors and warships will be engaged in fierce battles. Even the demon emperors and the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators might not be able to change the outcome of a battle!

Therefore, my own strength is far from enough, and it is vital for me to precisely control the entire battlefield and absolutely control all the factors around me!

I should train myself more in that regard!

Li Yao narrowed his eyes and tried his best to conceal his glittering eyes while his computational ability stretched out deep inside his brain like an invisible octopus.

In the messy battlefield, thirty square meters around him, every demon beast and every gladiator suddenly had a bright golden outline, and a series of bright gold numbers popped up.

That was the data of their speed, distance, position, and strength.

Li Yao condensed two cores of computation inside his brain. One was responsible for the calculation of the moves and attacks that he should make right now, and the other was dedicated to predicting the possible scenarios of the other gladiators and demon beasts thirty square meters around him.

The bright golden numbers were built into nonexistent virtual battlefields as he deducted the outcomes of the battle under different choices.

When the numbers crashed into dazzling sparks, Li Yao suddenly slid leftward and extended the short bone spear hidden inside his palm quietly, piercing deep into the left eye of a Thunder Snake and passing through its entire cerebrum.

The central nerves of the Thunder Snake, however, were somewhere else. Damaging its cerebrum was not enough to rid it of all its combat ability.

If it were in his past, Li Yao would have possibly pierced through the central nerves of the demon beast and cut off its spine, making it completely paralyzed and unable to spurt out any electric arcs at all.

However, the Thunder Snake whose cerebrum had been destroyed shrieked in agony, manipulated by the central nerves, only to jerk up and land on the back of a Lightning Crocodile next to it.

The cerebrum of the Thunder Snake had lost all functions. It was taking action based on its most primitive natural instincts. Therefore, it simply tied up the Lightning Crocodile and exerted all its strength, releasing all the electric arcs it had crazily!

The Lightning Crocodile was, of course, not afraid of the electric arcs, but the excruciating pain resulting from being tied up was unstoppable!

The Lightning Crocodile was going to bite one of the bull-horned muscular demons, but it was now writhing on the ground and struggling hard.

The bull-horned muscular demon was slightly dazed. He immediately waved the giant iron hammer that was packed with sharp thorns and bashed the enemy hard. After a heavy sound, the head of the Lightning Crocodile was broken apart, and it was killed immediately!

I’ve done it!

Li Yao cheered in his heart. His precise attack had changed the outcome of a battle near him.

However, it was not enough!

Li Yao’s eyes were both shining, especially his left eye, where interconnected bloody lines were appearing and turning the muddled arena into a chess board.

The demon beasts and the new gladiators all turned into his chess pieces!

Now, I will try to manipulate the more complicated battles!

Li Yao sensed that an electric arc was being condensed below his feet.

He could have jumped away easily in less than half a second, but he saw that a Soul-Splitting Behemoth was running toward him. His computation ability blossomed like fireworks and helped him to make the decision to stay where he was!

In a moment, an electric arc tied him up like venomous vines. He pretended to grimace as if he was being electrocuted, and he was blown away by the heavy clash of the Soul-Splitting Behemoth!

Li Yao waved his hands and feet crazily in midair, ‘struggling’ to adjust his posture, only to crash into a demon beast with white hair all over its body that looked like an enormous gorilla. The demon beast was almost knocked over!

Chi!

A chainsword immediately cut into the main artery of the demon beast.

But the new gladiator who was holding the chainsword was confused. His target was not the gorilla in the first place. Yet, the enemy somehow sent itself to the tip of his sword.

The heavily wounded gorilla burst into fury and waved its arms crazily, but Li Yao simply pierced his fingers into the back of the beast and clenched its spine hard. The gorilla roared and raged forward, triggering yet another series of chain reactions. All the demon beasts and the new gladiators who were affected by the wounded gorilla found the directions of their weapons, claws, and teeth changed uncannily.

The weapons that were aimed at the critical parts of the gladiators brush past them, however closely. The sabers, swords, and bone blades that were supposed to be blocked by the demon beasts, after a series of inexplicable collisions and squeezes, hit the most vulnerable parts of the demon beasts precisely!

Seeing the demon beasts that were writhing on the ground in pain and his fellow demons who were all wearing a confused expression, Li Yao thought quickly and felt that he was getting the hang of it.

In a team fight, what matters most is not how many enemies I can kill personally, but how much of a positive influence I can have on my team.

The spiritual energy and potential in the cells of an expert are limited after all. They cannot burn their life and soul and cells in every battle randomly. If that was the case, after only several battles, they would surely die of exhaustion!

Guiding the situation of a battle precisely at the consumption of the least strength and triggering all the potential of a team is the most cost-effective way of fighting in a chaotic war with countless participants!

Everybody is a chess piece except me; I’m the player!

Li Yao was more and more relaxed, and his countenance was calmer and calmer. The indifference in his left eye and the casualness in his right eye were mixed together, giving him a subtle air that he was above the chess board.

Through the precise movement, inconspicuous attacks, and appropriate dodging and pushing, he completely controlled the battles thirty square meters around him.

Thirty meters around him, all the new gladiators were overjoyed.

They felt that they were helped by a god. The demon beasts that they were best to deal with would always show up in front of them in the most appropriate position with the worst posture so that they could take their time and aim at the critical parts of the demon beasts!

When a new demon beast appeared on their flank, a new gladiator would always appear in time and help them resolve the trouble!

Even the spluttering electric arcs from the ground seemed to be helping them. The hinderances either missed them at a close distance or hit them only when they were not surrounded by demon beasts so that they could pass the few seconds of paralysis safely.

For a moment, the field was empty of demon beasts in the thirty square meters around Li Yao—all the demon beasts had been slain by the gladiators!

Chapter 873: Laughter of the Scumbags

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Most of the silver-blood demons did not pay much attention to the ‘warm-up’ before the real game. Even Yuchi Ba, the master of the Skeleton Island, was merely chitchatting with his bodyguards at first.

But the odd changes of the battle soon attracted his attention. After an exclamation of surprise, he started observing the two swirls of blood in the Lightning Prison with great interest.

One of the swirls was the battle formation made of fifteen bull-horned muscular demons.

The giants from the same tribe were moving in an orderly fashion under the command of their leader. They were not charging forward blindly, and occasionally, they would turn around and crush the demon beasts that had formed a group.

The demon beasts boasted some sort of wisdom, too. They knew the feeling of fear when they were under huge pressure. After being scattered and crushed by the bull-horned muscular demons, it would take a long time before they could regroup.

The gladiators who were relatively smart took the opportunity to follow the bull-horned muscular demons and launched remote attacks under their cover.

At first glance, it was very similar to the cover-and-assault strategy that human beings often utilized with crystal tanks and dispersed soldiers.

Gradually, more and more gladiators gathered around the bull-horned muscular demons. Eventually, there were almost seventy of them.

Beside Yuchi Ba, a leopard demon with eye-catching stripes all over her body smiled and said, “The leader of the Red Blood Bronze Bulls knows how to command. He has formed his own team so quickly.”

Although she was smiling, her curled eyes looked like two sabers and gave the unmistakable feeling of coldness.

Yuchi Ba nodded. His mouth was broad, but his voice was rather high-pitched. “A gladiator with leadership is not easy to find. I hope he can demonstrate a few good performances in the battles to come!”

Deep brilliance beamed out of his eyes that were as small as beans. There was no telling what was on the mind of the master of the Skeleton Island.

However, when his eyes turned to the other swirl, he could not help but crane his neck in great suspicion.

The dozen or so gladiators in the second swirl were neither as physically strong as the Red Blood Bronze Bulls nor had an obvious leader to coordinate and command them. Judging from the appearance, they were all fighting on their own in an utter mess.

But for some reason, their efficiency was particularly high. Any demon beast that stepped into their circle seemed to be mired in an invisible swamp. Their movement was slow, and they were even pushing each other. Eventually, they were merely feeding themselves to the claws and blades of the gladiators.

At first glance, the gladiators in the second swirl were just a random mob, not even close to the neat organization of the Red Blood Bronze Bulls.

But as for the outcome, the demon beasts killed by them were far more than those slain by the Red Blood Bronze Bulls.

“What is going on here?”

Even Yuchi Ba was slightly dazed. He scratched his enormous horn with his thick fingers and chuckled in amusement. “How did those guys catch a break today?”

The rest of the gladiators were certainly no fools. They soon discovered the anomaly of the two ‘swirls’ and tried their best to join the two amalgamations.

As more and more gladiators were gathered around Li Yao, the data that he needed to calculate and manipulate expanded exponentially. When the range of manipulation was further extended, he soon had the feeling that he was not able to do it any longer.

I can’t increase any more. Right now, I can only manipulate the combat thirty-five meters around me at best!

I have never learned how to command and organize on a battlefield, and it is too much of a burden for me to calculate everything temporarily.

On second thought, the so-called ‘battle formations’ are perhaps examples that indicate the knowledge of accurate control over the battlefield. It seems that I will have to learn more about the battle formations when I have the chance!

The two amalgamations, namely Li Yao’s and the Red Blood Bronze Bulls’, were moving forward simultaneously. Like magnets drawing small nails incessantly, they attracted more and more gladiators into them on their way.

Although the demon beasts around them were still multiple times more than themselves, the two amalgamations were like two mills of flesh and blood whenever the demon beasts broke into the circle. They were ground until even their bones were shredded.

Watching their companions breaking apart in the circles of the gladiators, even the most brutal demon beasts hesitated to draw close now.

The two amalgamations of gladiators reached the only open bronze gate at the north almost at the same time.

The gate was more than three meters both in length and in width. It was not small for human beings. But for demons, who were almost exclusively more than three meters tall and had weird bones and forms, such a gate was simply too narrow.

Besides, there was a long pathway behind the gate. If a gladiator who was relatively larger in size blocked the pathway, those behind them would not be able to pass through at all.

It was the trickiest moment.

In the past, countless gladiators had broken through the furious tides of demon beasts successfully, only to attack each other before the bronze gate without giving in. In the end, they had all been mauled by the demon beasts, and none of them had actually been able to get away.

The two teams of gladiators were too occupied in killing to notice their surroundings. It was not until this moment that the gladiators except Li Yao noticed each other.

The two teams confronted each other silently. The static sparks in the quietness seemed to be even more dazzling than the electric arcs.

It was also the audience’s favorite procedure.

The bronze-blood demons loved watching the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons, who were even lowlier than them, attacking each other and bleeding while they cheered for them.

“Kill them! Kill them!”

“Your life will be saved after you pass through the gate. Run now!”

Perverted laughter echoed on the auditorium.

Li Yao saw clearly that the veins on the forehead of the leader of the bull-horned muscular demons were protruding like a viper waking after a prolonged hibernation. He shouted, waving his enormous iron hammer, “One member of each team will go into the gate in turn. Don’t panic. We can all survive!”

Li Yao was dazed. Except for him, the fifteen bull-horned muscular demons were apparently the strongest warriors on the battlefield. Nobody had the ability to stop them if they were determined to escape, but they were abandoning the opportunity. Why?

“Don’t you see?”

The leader of the bull-horned muscular demons bashed the ground with his hammer hard and yelled, “Those demon beasts are no match for us at all. As long as we remain united and do not attack each other, we can all make our way out!

“Don’t panic. One from each side. Leave your weapon and pass through the bronze gate as quickly as possible!

“Don’t worry about the demon beasts. The fifteen of us will cover the retreat. We will enter the gate last!”

While talking, the leader waved his hands and led his fourteen subordinates to the back of the team. They roared and constituted a solid wall, facing the simmering tide of demon beasts!

The intimidating aura of the fifteen bull-horned muscular demons suppressed the outrage of all the demon beasts in the blink of an eye.

Li Yao was truly dumbfounded. He could not believe his eyes.

Maybe because of the encouragement of the bull-horned muscular demons, or maybe because they realized that too many gladiators had passed through the demon beasts this time and the only outcome if everybody crammed into the bronze gate would be that the pathway would be blocked, many gladiators who were relatively larger in size turned around silently and stood next to the bull-horned muscular demons, filling the gaps between them!

The gladiators who were slimmer and smaller in size handed their weapons to the gladiators behind them cooperatively and passed through the bronze gate at their top speed.

One from each team, they entered the bronze gate orderly. All the gladiators were regrouped into two neat teams smoothly according to their body sizes!

It was something that had never happened on the Skeleton Island before!

The heated auditorium, which had been filled with laughter and screams a moment ago, was dead silent. Even the sound of a needle hitting the ground would have been heard.

The excited bronze-blood demons with twisted faces were all dumbfounded. Even the silver-blood demons were extending their heads out of their boxes, complaining in confusion and dissatisfaction.

Hiss! Hiss!

The demon beasts in the arena were not willing to let go of the prey that had been offered to them and launched a counterattack.

The bull-horned muscular demons were not defending blindly. Faced with the surging tide of demon beasts, they charged forward yet again. Like a burning sword, they raged inside the flock of demon beasts and paved roads of blood!

After a few unbelievable counter-counterattacks, all the demon beasts were wavering, not having the courage to move forward again.

However, the bull-horned muscular demons were not made of steel. After the multiple head-on clashes with the demon beasts, barely any part of their skin was intact, and they were all bleeding profusely. There was no telling what supported them to keep on standing.

Another slight touch or a gentle breeze would probably enough to push them over, but no demon beasts dared to try for a long time.

Under their watch, the gladiators near them were fewer and fewer. The majority of the gladiators had run away successfully.

Realizing that the last prey was going to slip away if they kept on waiting, the boldest Soul-Splitting Behemoths finally summoned their courage and crashed at the wall again!

The hands and legs of the bull-horned muscular demons were all trembling. Their weapons had all fallen to the ground, and they could not even pick them up now.

But the air currents spurting out of their noses became denser and denser like flooding magma!

Right then, a black shadow suddenly passed by them. The length of his left arm was suddenly doubled and slapped out like a supersonic whip!

In an earsplitting shriek, a spear refined out of the femur of an enormous demon beast was thrown out brutally. Before the sound spread out, it had already hit the center of the eyebrow of a Soul-Splitting Behemoth, pierced deep into the head, and penetrated out of its throat, pinning the gargantuan beast to the ground!

Although the head of the beast was pinned to the ground, its body was still moving forward because of the strong inertia. As a result, the body was split apart from the head, and its neck exploded into a pulp of meat.

While everybody was bewildered, Li Yao dragged all the fatigued bull-horned muscular demons into the bronze gate before he closed it heavily with all of his strength.

“Thank you, for what you did today and yesterday.”

Inside the darkness, the sound of the leader of the bull-horned muscular demons turned warm and mild.

“Why did you do it?” Li Yao asked.

The leader panted for a long time. Inside the darkness, the pair of bull eyes were emitting comforting brilliance like two topazes the size of eggs.

“I just don’t like the laughter of the scumbags in the auditorium,” he replied. “That’s all.”

Chapter 874: First Appearance of Chaos

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

BAM! BAM BAM! BAM BAM BAM BAM!

The sounds of iron fists colliding with sharp claws, mixed with heated cheers, were echoing on an empty field in the center of the forest. A group of gladiators were standing in a circle, watching the competition of two experts.

The one on the left was the leader of the bull-horned muscular demons.

The one that was resisting his attack unhurriedly was, naturally, Li Yao.

“Moo!”

The leader of the bull-horned muscular demons roared suddenly, and his arms bulged to twice their original size with veins binding them up in circles like the whorls on a screw. The punch was mixed with a weird helical force, and Li Yao’s defense was crushed even though he had crossed his two arms to resist the attack. Meanwhile, the veins on his opponent’s arms suddenly twisted in the opposite direction, like a spring that was released abruptly after being tightened. Another new force was blown out and pressed Li Yao’s chest heavily.

Li Yao retreated almost ten steps before he hit a giant tree heavily, shaking the leaves of the tree hard. He shook his hand and smiled. “Let’s stop fighting. Brother Mo has grasped seventy percent of the ‘Boa Bondage Force’. I’m no match for you.”

Li Yao had limited his strength and speed to 7%. Without resorting to the force of his core and spiritual energy, he was truly no match for the leader of the bull-horned muscular demons with only 7% of his capability.

It was the seventh day after Li Yao arrived at the Skeleton Island.

After passing through the first battle, they had turned from new blood into official gladiators, but they were not scheduled for a second game in a hurry. Instead, they were simply locked in the deepest part of the Skeleton Island for further training.

Although they were prisoners, the place was an out-and-out training camp in Li Yao’s eyes.

Every day, they were able to drink strengthening drugs that were powerful and contained a lot of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Li Yao did not know much about the strengthening drugs of the Blood Demon Sector, but according to the standard of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, they were all invaluable treasures. Even the best students of the Nine Elite Colleges would not necessarily be able to obtain such strengthening drugs.

Other than that, the meat of demon beasts that stored abundant spiritual energy was supplied unlimitedly. The guards did not even frown when Li Yao ate seven whales in a row and simply offered more food to him.

Moreover, the information bugs that they received had been fully upgraded, too. The battle experience of many middle- and high-level demon generals, and sometimes even demon kings, was now stored inside them.

The normal gladiators might have found it difficult to understand the quick and mysterious fighting scenes. But for Li Yao, having access to such battle experience was like giving a fish an ocean to swim in.

In the special training camp, all the gladiators were mixed up. Other than the newcomers such as themselves, there were also a lot of veterans who had participated in multiple games and the real brutal warriors who had secured five victories and regained their freedom but still chose to stay on the Skeleton Island as tutors.

Under such circumstances, all the gladiators naturally started bonding with each other. The leader of the bull-horned muscular demons and Li Yao, who nailed a Soul-Splitting Behemoth at the crucial moment in the end, became the center of the newly-arrived gladiators.

Li Yao learned that the leader of the bull-horned muscular demons was named ‘Mo Tiesheng’. He had lived with his companions around Cloud Mist Swamp, which was as an underdeveloped area as the Hundred Desolation Mountain and frequented by a lot of demon beasts. They had made their living by hunting down the demon beasts. After generations of evolution and elimination, their unparalleled physical strength had been built up.

Their village had been affected by the war between the coalition army of the demon race and the Blade of Chaos, too. Because of the savaging fires of war, they had to evacuate from their hometown, only to run into the slave-catching team of Void Turmoil City.

Magnificent as the naturally-endowed techniques of the Red Blood Bronze Bulls and Fire Kirins might have been, it was not enough for them to resist the barrage of the acid cannons and the bone sting guns. A lot of their clan members who dared to fight back had been slain, and the rest of them had been paralyzed by the narcotic drugs. When they woke up again, they had already been tied up and unable to move anymore.

Therefore, Mo Tiesheng hated the high and mighty nobles’ guts.

The other gladiators were more or less the same. They had mostly been living in the far-flung areas where the environment was harsh with endless demon beasts. But because of the flames of war, they had been involved in a disaster that was unrelated to them and ended up in this place, turning from an innocent hunter in the wilderness into a finely-made slaughtering machine.

The Skeleton Island’s mode of operation is indeed not right!

Li Yao was deep in thought.

Chaotic-blood demons were certainly not a synonym for the weak. In fact, their potential was much higher than those of many black-blood and bronze-blood demons.

Before, the well-despised chaotic-blood demons usually lived in the corners of the Blood Demon Sector. They were loose sand and could not stir much trouble.

However, through slave trading, the chaotic-blood demons who were infuriated and loathed the nobles had been gathered in Void Turmoil City, and the most defiant of them had been shipped to the Skeleton Island to receive such mysterious, rigorous, and effective training.

Naturally, a possible explanation would be that only through such refinement could the gladiators offer entertaining matches and even become the sharp claws and teeth for the nobles.

However, would the claws and teeth really never tear open the throats of their masters?

Other than that, all the gladiators had been locked up in the same place, but there was not any surveillance at all. Wasn’t it very convenient for the gladiators to connect with each other?

In fact, that was exactly what had happened.

After only a few days, Mo Tiesheng had established his prestige among the gladiators and in effect became the big brother for them, and Li Yao and a few other gladiators were also respected for their marvelous capability. Many gladiators were willing to listen to their command.

During the casual chitchats at night, there was no telling who started it first, but everybody started sharing the reason and process of their capture. After they heard that everybody had such similar experiences, it was unmistakable that flames of empathy and comradery were burning deep down in their eyes.

If the chaotic-blood demons had been loose sand in the past, right now, they already had their basic organization.

If the gladiators were to rise up and fight their oppressors, the experts such as Mo Tiesheng and Li Yao would be the natural leaders!

This place is totally a boot camp for the rebels!

While he was pondering, he smelt a pungent smell, only to find that Mo Tiesheng had sat down next to him and was staring at the gladiators who were training hard far away.

“Another four victories, then we will be able to go back,” Mo Tiesheng said slowly.

Despite his brutality and valiance in the games, Mo Tiesheng was rather friendly and easygoing. His greatest goal was nothing more than to bring his companions back to their hometown and live their poor but peaceful lives again.

Before Li Yao could reply, laughter resembling the cackles of a crow echoed behind the two of them. An old demon, whose skin was wrinkled with gray feathers and whose eyes were red, moved close.

The old demon was named Ba Mingsong. He had been a gladiator in the past, too, but his wings had been broken during a game, and although he had luckily survived, he was not able to fight any more games.

He was working in the training camp as a servant and a masseur. Sometimes, he was responsible for answering the questions of the newly-arrived gladiators, too. But in general, he was just an insignificant worker.

However, mysterious brilliance was beaming out of Ba Mingsong’s eyes. He chuckled and craned his long neck toward them. “You think that you will be allowed to go home so easily? In your dream!”

Mo Tiesheng bulged his eyes. “Does the master of the Skeleton Island not honor his words?”

Ba Mingsong sneered, “Of course, the master of the Skeleton Island honors his words. However, you must bear in mind that you must secure five victories instead of one or two. There’s a huge difference between one victory and five!

“Mad Bull, Bloody Claw, you are among the most distinguished gladiators of the newcomers over the past few years. You are going to be great money-makers for the arena. Will they let go of you easily?”

After they entered the Skeleton Island, their names were meaningless, and they had been nicknamed according to their own characteristics. Mo Tiesheng was called ‘Mad Bull’ while Li Yao was addressed as ‘Bloody Claw’.

Ba Mingsong blinked and said in a low voice, “Tell you what, there are a lot of ways to keep you in this place. For example, after you win four games, somebody will declare that you’ve misunderstood the rule, and that you will have to secure five victories in a row—not separately—in order to be set free!

“Or rather, they will grant you strengthening drugs that are very powerful but have a limited time of effect. At the beginning, you are naturally free to take them. However, after you’ve tasted the gratification of strength, you will be charged if you want more of such drugs! You don’t have any money? That’s easy. The Skeleton Island will loan you money! After you borrow the first sum of money, you will never be able to walk out of the place anymore. Even if you’ve regained your freedom, you will still have to linger on the Skeleton Island or work for other nobles!”

Mo Tiesheng snorted. “So, in your opinion, we are never going to be free again, are we?”

“Free? Hehe. Hehehehe!”

Ba Mingsong chuckled in amusement and said, “Even if you miraculously win five games and find your way back to your hometown, do you think that you will be free? In the Blood Demon Sector, the silver-blood demons and the bronze-blood demons are always the high and mighty rulers while the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons are the most humble ants. What’s the difference between living on the Skeleton Island or somewhere else?

“Right now, a lot of demons are being enlisted in the outside. You will die either as a gladiator of the Skeleton Island or as cannon fodder that is sent to the Heaven’s Origin Sector. Do you think that you can be free when you’re out?”

Mo Tiesheng was rendered speechless and lost for words.

But Li Yao thought of something. He observed Ba Mingsong in secret and felt that the demon’s countenance was rather mysterious. It was clear that he was much more than a simple servant.

As it turned out, Ba Mingsong turned his neck around agilely and, seeing that nobody else was around, said in a low voice, “We will never be free unless we overthrow the reign of the silver-blood demons and the bronze-blood demons and restore the social position of the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons under the guidance of God Chaos!”

Brilliance suddenly beamed out of Mo Tiesheng’s bull eyes. He clutched Ba Mingsong’s wings and bellowed, “You are with the Blade of Chaos?”