The Demon Ancestor gazed toward Xu Ying from afar and said with a smile, "Of course I didn't invite him here to tear down the Ancestral Court. Mon—Daoist Wukong, don't go thinking about tearing down this or that either. I invited him here partly to restore the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth of the Ancestral Court, and partly to see which side we should take."
Daoist Wukong also looked at Xu Ying from afar with great interest, saying, "The demon race, which once ruled the world and boasts a glorious history—since when has it humbled itself to the point of needing to pick a side?"
The Demon Ancestor sighed. "Six hundred thousand years ago, the demon race chose no one. In the end, we gained nothing at all, only to be purged in the aftermath. Now another time of great upheaval has arrived. If we don't choose a side now, I'm afraid we won't even have the chance to choose one in the future."
Daoist Wukong asked, puzzled, "The Three Realms Tide shouldn't count as a time of great upheaval yet, should it?"
Suddenly he realized, and he gasped, "You mean...?"
He transformed into a beam of golden light and broke through the void. In the next moment, the golden ape soared out of the Demon Ancestral Court, piercing through its sky and spiraling upward into the void.
He focused his vision, and two brilliant beams of golden light shot forth like pillars, illuminating the void.
Driven by the Three Realms Tide, the Immortal Realm was cruising through the void, while the Heavenly Road connecting the immortal and mortal realms was being compressed, constantly shrinking.
In some places, the severed Heavenly Road had even begun to reconnect!
Yet Daoist Wukong was not looking at the Heavenly Road, nor at the Immortal Realm, but behind the Immortal Realm.
The void there was vast and unfathomable, difficult to discern. He could only faintly sense that behind the Immortal Realm lurked some colossal entity—infinitely larger than the Immortal Realm itself—quietly approaching.
Daoist Wukong sucked in a breath of cold air, flipped backward, and leaped back into the Ancestral Court.
A streak of golden light re-entered the Demon Ancestral Court. When the light came to a halt, Daoist Wukong emerged and walked to the Demon Ancestor's side, his expression shifting erratically.
After a long time, the golden ape let out a deep sigh. "Hard! Hard! Hard!"
The Demon Ancestor remained entirely at ease. Looking toward Xu Ying from the distance, he said leisurely, "That is why we must pick a side first."
Over there, before Xu Ying, countless branches whipped through the air amid the collapsed immortal palace—none other than Clan Elder Liu Shengtao's true form.
Xu Ying's earlier strike had been overwhelmingly domineering. The Purple Nether Saber had cleaved down from the crown of the old willow tree, nearly reaching its roots!
The surging saber might had shattered countless branches, nearly splitting the great tree in half!
Fortunately, the roots remained unharmed, so Clan Elder Liu Shengtao had not perished. But what kind of formidable immortal artifact was the Purple Nether Saber?
It was a peerless divine blade forged by the Imperial Monarch, the very magic treasure once used to execute Xu Ying—so much so that to this day, seeing the blade made Xu Ying feel as though his entire body were being slashed, a pain excruciating to endure.
The saber's might had invaded Liu Shengtao's trunk, destroying his cultivation and inflicting Dao wounds throughout.
The countless branches flailing like tentacles before Xu Ying were simply Liu Shengtao twitching in relentless agony.
He wanted to restore his true form, but the Imperial Monarch's Dao cultivation far exceeded his own, leaving him incapable of unraveling the Dao methods contained within the blade.
Xu Ying sheathed the saber. His clear, resonant voice rippled across the Demon Ancestral Court with his divine consciousness: "I am Xu Ying. This fellow ambushed me on the road, so I slew him. I am a guest invited by the Demon Ancestor. I harbor no malice toward the demon race, but neither will I allow anyone to bully me. Today I have slain this demonic dragon to serve as a warning to others!"
As soon as Xu Ying spoke, experts from various demon clans who had been radiating astonishing demonic qi—some even brandishing ancient immortal artifacts of tremendous power—all lowered their banners and silenced their drums, quieting down.
Yuan Qi slithered over, quietly raising his tail in admiration at those words. He praised inwardly, 'Ah Ying is growing cultured. My teaching has truly borne fruit.'
Then he suddenly remembered that when he parted ways with Xu Ying, Xu Ying had still been a crude boor, possessing no literary grace whatsoever aside from an extraordinary talent for deciphering Immortal Dao runes. How had he become so cultured after they separated?
Clearly, the one who taught Xu Ying literature might not have been him after all.
The massive willow tree suddenly forced its split trunk together, closing up, yet a faint glint of saber light still flickered in the seam, threatening to burst outward from within the wood.
A gray-haired old man leaning on a walking stick walked out from the ruined palace and said in a hoarse voice, "Young Master Xu Ying, that vile dragon harmed you, but there is no enmity between you and me. Why did you harm me?"
This gray-haired old man was Clan Elder Liu Shengtao in human form.
Behind him followed many clansmen of the Liu clan. One shouted, "Deploy the Great Sage's physical body and fight him to the death!"
Ling Siyi's heart tightened. She rushed forward, spreading her arms to shield Xu Ying, and barked, "Young Master Xu is an honored guest invited by the Demon Ancestor! Who dares make a reckless move?"
A Great Sage's physical body was the golden body left behind after a demon Great Sage died. Consecrated through the demon race's sacrifices and sustained by the power of incense, it preserved their former cultivation. Once activated, it was extraordinarily formidable, like a Great Sage resurrected.
The Liu clansmen were furious. "Does being the Demon Ancestor's guest give him the right to harm people?"
Clan Elder Liu Shengtao tapped his cane on the ground to quiet them, then said to Ling Siyi, "Though Young Master Xu is an honored guest of the Demon Ancestor, he harmed me without cause. This matter cannot simply be dropped. Since Young Master Xu injured me with a saber, he must leave that blade behind. Once this old man's wounds have healed, I will naturally return it."
Ling Siyi hesitated. She knew the reason Xu Ying had not arrived at the Demon Ancestral Court alongside the Imperial Son, Jin Buyi, was precisely to reforge the Purple Nether Saber. He intended to present this momentous immortal artifact as a gift to Jin Buyi to help him seize the imperial throne.
Jin Buyi excelled in saber techniques, and the Purple Nether Saber suited him perfectly. How could Xu Ying possibly give it up when Liu Shengtao demanded it?
Yet if Xu Ying refused, the Liu clan would have an excuse to mobilize the Great Sage's physical body.
The Liu clan also harbored ambitions for the throne of Demon Emperor. They would certainly not let this opportunity slip, and would do everything possible to eliminate Jin Buyi's reinforcements!
Suddenly, Xu Ying drew the Purple Nether Saber once more and said leisurely, "You want this saber?"
The blade's radiance bathed the surroundings in violet. Xu Ying looked down at the immortal artifact and lightly swung it. The stars beyond the heavens seemed to dance along with the weapon's motion, as though saber qi had surged into the Milky Way and stirred its myriad constellations!
Suddenly, Xu Ying held the saber up with both hands and smiled. "If that is the case, elder, please take the saber."
Liu Shengtao stepped forward, drawing closer and closer to the Purple Nether Saber. He reached out to grasp it, but suddenly his expression changed drastically, and his feet froze in place.
Behind him, sharp saber qi suddenly erupted from within the ancient willow tree, threatening to tear his true form apart!
Liu Shengtao snorted coldly, fixing his gaze on Xu Ying's face. He said grimly, "Young man, even a mighty dragon cannot suppress the local snake. Surrender this blade, and you may yet keep your life."
Xu Ying smiled faintly. "Only a fierce dragon dares cross the river. If you want this saber, elder, feel free to take it."
Liu Shengtao's outstretched hand was merely a foot away from the Purple Nether Saber in Xu Ying's grasp.
All he needed was to step half a pace forward, and he could seize it in his hand.
Yet that half-step seemed a chasm between life and death, insurmountable.
Liu Shengtao surged his cultivation, doing everything in his power to suppress his injuries, but the saber wounds clung like maggots to bone, growing stronger the harder he tried to suppress them.
The closer he got to the Purple Nether Saber, the more potent the saber wounds became, and the harder they were to contain!
Beneath his robes, blood began to seep out—green blood.
Marshaling all his magic power, Liu Shengtao forcibly suppressed the injuries. He abruptly lifted his foot, stepped forward half a pace, gripped the hilt, and lifted the Purple Nether Saber!
Right at that moment, violet saber beams erupted from within his body, forming a line straight from his forehead down to his crotch. With a sharp squelch, blood sprayed in every direction!
Liu Shengtao split down the middle, cleaved cleanly in two by the saber intent within his wounds.
The Purple Nether Saber he had just gripped slipped from his grasp, falling right back into Xu Ying's hand!
Holding the blade in one hand, Xu Ying turned his back to the crowd. The long saber glided slowly through the air, enshrouded in purple mist. He smiled. "Had you not taken this saber, you would not have had to die. This blade is not something just anyone can take."
Crack!
Within the palaces of the Liu clan, saber light suddenly burst from the trunk of that ancient willow tree, splitting it right down the middle.
The two halves of the massive tree crashed down to either side with a thunderous roar, a terrifying spectacle!
Clan Elder Liu Shengtao of the Liu clan had fallen just like that!
Xu Ying sheathed his saber and declared in a clear voice, "Xu Ying, an unaffiliated immortal of the mountains and wilds, has come upon invitation to seek an audience with the Demon Ancestor!"
The fragments of the Demon Immortal Court were scattered about, each host to different demon clans who had founded great families and formed major factions. At this moment, demon experts from across these fragments looked over one after another. Seeing Liu Shengtao provoked by the saber qi and killed, their hearts chilled.
Ling Siyi hastily said, "Celestial Venerable Xu, this way please!"
Her heart pounded wildly. On the surface, Liu Shengtao had reached for the saber and died from the backlash of the saber qi, but in truth, he had been slain by Xu Ying.
Establishing his authority by slaying a demon clan elder the moment he set foot in the Demon Ancestral Court—if this triggered a backlash from the demon factions, then even with the Demon Ancestor's invitation, he might end up dead without a grave!
Inside the Fusang tree, the Demon Ancestor and Daoist Wukong watched Xu Ying's group approach. Suddenly, the Demon Ancestor shook his head. "Xu Ying acts too overbearingly; what is too rigid snaps easily. He used the Imperial Monarch's Purple Nether Saber to teach the Liu clan a lesson in order to establish his authority and warn the various factions of the demon race not to harbor crooked thoughts toward him and Jin Buyi."
He sighed and continued, "But he forgot one thing: after all, the demon race once ruled the world. Even a battered ship still has three thousand nails. Which of the demon families that have survived to this day has not produced a few demon Great Sages? I do not look favorably upon him."
Daoist Wukong retorted, "In this world, if one doesn't act with dominance and instead dilly-dallies meekly, what can one achieve? You were always meek and indecisive, which is why after your death you were pushed around by the clan elders, left without a shred of real power. Even looking at you disgusts me. I look favorably upon him."
Fury flared in the Demon Ancestor's heart, and unable to hold back any longer, he snapped, "You monkey!"
Daoist Wukong smiled faintly. "When your tree fell, the monkeys scattered long ago."
The Demon Ancestor trembled with rage, and the Fusang tree shook along with him.
Daoist Wukong's heart tightened slightly. 'The Demon Ancestor is dead but not stiff; his remaining magic power is still considerable! If I were to fight him, I might fail to hold back and beat him to death.'
At that thought, he smiled and said, "Old... old fellow, don't get angry, you'll harm your health. I offer my apologies."
Only then did the Demon Ancestor's anger subside a bit.
Daoist Wukong smiled. "You are an entity who has lived through ten dynasties of Demon Emperors after all, yet you are still so petty-minded. A single word and you flare up. Calm down, calm down. Xu Ying is here."
The Demon Ancestor hastily strode over to his throne and sat upright with great solemnity.
Daoist Wukong's wide sleeves fluttered as he found a prayer mat and sat just below the Demon Ancestor. Though a golden ape, he bore the transcendent bearing of a Daoist immortal.
Both took on dignified, solemn expressions, eyes regarding noses, noses regarding hearts.
After a moment, Daoist Wukong chuckled. "If you are asking someone for help, do you really need to be so formal?"
The Demon Ancestor laughed. "I truly am asking him for help."
Both relaxed.
Xu Ying followed Ling Siyi inside, entering the sacred hall within the Fusang tree, where the Demon Ancestor was walking toward them from ahead. Ling Siyi hurriedly bowed and said, "Ancestor, your disciple Ling Siyi has fulfilled her mission and brought Young Master Xu Ying."
Xu Ying stepped forward and was about to offer his greetings when he suddenly noticed a golden-furred ape sitting beside the old Daoist, wearing yellow robes. Was that not the missing corpse he had picked up from the Supreme Realm?
"Monk—Monk—"
At that point, he suddenly remembered Fairy Qingbi's instructions and quickly switched to a delighted tone. "Senior Golden Ape, you are alive! Fortune favors the worthy after all; this is truly wonderful!"
Daoist Wukong laughed. "I had some business to attend to. Seeing you in seclusion healing your wounds, I took my leave without saying goodbye. By the time I returned, you were no longer there, so I came here to wait. Young Friend Xu, you may not know my origins, but there is a poem to attest to it:
'When primordial chaos first parted, nature was unborn—Wuxing;
To shatter stubborn ignorance, one must awaken to emptiness—Wukong.'
That is where my Daoist name comes from."
Xu Ying said joyfully, "Xu Ying greets Senior Wuxing!"
Hearing this, Daoist Wukong hesitated in his heart: 'Should I still repay the debt of saving my life, or should I just beat him to death on the spot?'
Reading his expression, Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat, and he laughed hurriedly, "Senior, I must have misunderstood! Then Senior's name must be Ming... Ming... Xu Wukong, right?"
Daoist Wukong turned from anger to delight and laughed, "You added an extra 'Xu.' I came here to repay your favor. Once the debt is settled, I shall leave."
Xu Ying laughed heartily. "Senior, such a trivial matter isn't worth mentioning. When I recovered Senior's body, I only planned to bring it back and see if I could refine it into a magic treasure or something. I didn't hold the intention of saving anyone. Fortunately, Senior wasn't dead; had you died, I would have refined you into a treasure by now."
Daoist Wukong broke into a cold sweat at that, secretly thinking how lucky he was. He chuckled, "Even if you don't ask for repayment, I must repay it."
His golden eyes shone with penetrating light as he scrutinized Xu Ying, his brows furrowing deeply as he fell silent in thought.
Seeing him perplexed, the Demon Ancestor smiled and said, "Young Friend Xu, do you know why I invited you here?"
Xu Ying bowed in greeting and ventured a guess, "Could it be because I mended the heavens in Lihen Heaven, which caught the Demon Ancestor's notice, so you wished to invite me to repair the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth in the Demon Ancestral Court?"
The Demon Ancestor chuckled, "Yes, and no. Your enlightenment and mending of the heavens in Lihen Heaven did indeed catch my notice. While the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth in my Demon Ancestral Court was also shattered in the past, there is no need for you to mend it. Once I recover, I can mend it myself."
Xu Ying was thoroughly puzzled and asked, "May I ask, Senior, why then did you invite me here?"
The Demon Ancestor smiled. "Because when you attained enlightenment and mended the heavens in Lihen Heaven, you opened an Immortal Realm cave-heaven. An Immortal Realm cave-heaven can refine Jade Pool immortal fluid, which can heal my Dao wounds. Once I am resurrected, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth in the Demon Ancestral Court will naturally be restored."
Xu Ying came to a sudden realization. "So that is why. However, although I opened six Immortal Realm cave-heavens, none possesses the effect of Jade Pool immortal water."
His six Immortal Realm cave-heavens corresponded respectively to physical vitality, divine consciousness, soul power, primordial qi, yin and yang, and heart power. None of them could refine immortal qi into Jade Pool immortal water.
The Demon Ancestor smiled. "This old man has an ancient text here that records the comprehension method for ten cave-heavens. Alas, no one among my demon race can understand it."
Xu Ying's expression shifted slightly, and he asked urgently, "Who wrote this comprehension method?"
Chapter 476