The Mirage Demon could neither leave nor stay. Wei Yuan, of course, was not about to give him leisure to think; the portal leading beyond heaven began to steadily contract.
Just three feet in front of Wei Yuan, a spark of fire suddenly flared to life, and a translucent little insect began burning furiously. It was so minute as to be invisible to the naked eye—by the standards of the otherworldly realm, it was merely the size of a large cell—yet it moved like lightning and crept without a sound. Only when it reached right before Wei Yuan was it ignited.
The Mirage Demon was horrified. "You could actually break my destiny gu?!"
Wei Yuan sneered. "All of you have been afflicted by my gu insects, which is why you're half-dead. Who gave you the confidence to play with gu before me?"
The Mirage Demon asked, "They were all afflicted by gu? Why couldn't I tell?"
"Because you're stupid."
The truth, of course, was not so. A genetic virus showed an extraordinarily faint life response, making it undetectable through methods used to seek out gu insects. Nor was it a poison, so testing for toxins yielded nothing. Had Wei Yuan not suppressed the virus's activity within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, these demons would have long since turned into corpses.
As for breaking the Mirage Demon's natal gu, credit belonged to the little rooster. Wei Yuan had brought the little rooster over and hidden it among the fleet below so that its heaven-bestowed immortal ability could work on its own, exterminating the gu insect.
In truth, Wei Yuan would not have feared the gu entering his body anyway. His dharma body was exceedingly robust; ordinary microscopic organisms entering it would be like stumbling into a forest of steel. Wei Yuan wouldn't have had to do a thing—they would starve and trap themselves to death on their own.
Seeing its natal gu fail, the Mirage Demon abruptly wheeled around, bolted toward the portal, and plunged straight into it!
Wei Yuan was taken aback. Just moments ago, the demon had put on a display of being willing to lay down his life for his clansmen—and Wei Yuan had actually believed it!
That was why Wei Yuan had gone out of his way to threaten him with his clansmen, attempting to force him into submission.
Who could have guessed the fellow's acting was so superb? All that earlier drama had merely been cover for the movement of his natal gu insect, meant to deal Wei Yuan a fatal blow.
Once it charged into the portal, the doorway snapped shut. Then, a massive full moon appeared across the vault of heaven. A three-eyed bird head clamped its great beak shut, savoring the flavor. A moment later, opening its mouth, it spat the Mirage Demon back out.
While the demon was still reeling, head spinning, not knowing where he was, Wei Yuan charged in viciously. The terrifying power of a grotto-heaven bore down overhead, suppressing him all the way to early Scenery Command.
A serene, transcendent scenery then emerged before the demon, but the moment it materialized, Wei Yuan tossed a Xuanhuang Bell into it. The grotto-heaven scenery shattered and vanished instantly, knocking the Mirage Demon right out of Scenery Command.
Immediately after, Wei Yuan rushed forward, pinned the Mirage Demon down, and pummeled him with fists and kicks. He beat him black and blue, yet still unsatisfied, casually plucked a fistful of hair as well.
In terms of dharma body alone, three Scenery Command Mirage Demons combined were no match for Wei Yuan. The illusions, bewitchments, and poisons they excelled in had negligible effect on Wei Yuan. Thus, he could only endure the beating passively, like a failed imperial examination scholar bullied by street thugs.
After delivering a thorough beating for a solid half-hour until his hands felt slightly sore, Wei Yuan finally felt satisfied. It had to be said that there was nothing quite as gratifying as fists hitting flesh. If one wanted to vent anger, nothing felt better than smashing a fist into an opponent's face; in this respect, fire guns fell a bit short.
Yet though the beating was solid, Wei Yuan still had the sense that the Mirage Demon's injuries weren't as severe as they appeared on the surface. The fellow's acting skills were truly formidable; Wei Yuan dared not be careless again.
With their leading Mirage Demon captured, the rest knew that all hope was lost. A small portion plunged into the sea to seek death, but most surrendered, acknowledging Wei Yuan as their master. Surrendering at such a late juncture naturally earned them no favored treatment.
Wei Yuan slightly expanded the small island where they dwelt, then arranged for statues of Creation Immortal Venerable to be erected and formations laid down. Next, long tables were lined up side by side, opening over a hundred registration stations in one breath. These Mirage Demons had to sign blood contracts and swear oaths of fealty. The oaths followed a pre-written template—foul and rambling, but without a single loophole to exploit.
As Mirage Demon after Mirage Demon signed the blood contracts, Wei Yuan distinctly felt the spirituality and vitality of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World rise a notch.
By now, the scale of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World was already immense; in terms of sheer volume rather than quality, it hardly fell short of a golden world at the consummation of Scenery Command. To raise the vitality and spirituality of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World even a bit further meant an undeniably substantial increment!
So moving in a mature new species could bring such great benefits to a mindscape world. This made Wei Yuan look forward to the induction of the few high-cultivation Mirage Demons even more.
The terms of the Mirage Demons' surrender were that those at or above Dharma Idol would only accept captive status and would not surrender. All those below Dharma Idol surrendered completely, being incorporated into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World.
These high cultivators at or above Dharma Idol were still hoping the Worthy Prince of the Left would ransom them back. Wei Yuan readily agreed to this demand, then activated the self-destruct program within the genetic weapons. One by one, the ordinary Mirage Demons finally improved and regained their strength.
As for the other great demons, Wei Yuan imprisoned them separately and subjected them to brutal torture. He had only agreed to take them as captives; he had never promised preferential treatment.
For every day the ransom failed to arrive, these Mirage Demons would spend another day in the torture chamber.
The Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World now combined the strengths of both this realm and the otherworldly realm. This realm possessed boundless methods targeting the divine soul, while otherworldly medicine was exceedingly meticulous, able to pinpoint which exact nerves were tied to pain, inflicting maximum agony with minimal physical damage. Combining the two, less than three days passed before nearly half of the Mirage Demon Dharma Idols surrendered.
Wei Yuan then played recordings for the remaining Mirage Demons showing the Star Forest suddenly shattering and dropping in rank after fleeing, completely shattering their illusions. Thus, the rest surrendered as well.
In the end, only three Scenery Command Mirage Demons remained, refusing to yield no matter how they were tortured. Wei Yuan didn't have the time to waste on them, so he moved them to the Qingming Medicine Garden and handed them over to Old Daoist Chuhe.
Old Daoist Chuhe was deeply versed in the way of spiritual pets, and demons were not that different from spirit beasts anyway.
To his surprise, in less than three days, Perfected Person Chuhe sent word: two of the Mirage Demons had already yielded, leaving only one still stubbornly holding out, though it was almost ripe as well.
Wei Yuan was thoroughly astonished. Wasn't this a bit too fast? Ordinary Scenery Command cultivators sometimes didn't yield even after years or decades of torment. Falling into Chuhe's hands, they hadn't even lasted three days?
Thinking back to the battle, these Mirage Demons had seemed quite courageous!
Wei Yuan immediately set aside what he was doing and came to the medicine garden. A dedicated plot of land had been opened within the garden, featuring mountains, rivers, hills, and diverse terrain, all sealed off with grand formations. Originally Old Daoist Chuhe's grounds for taming new spirit beasts, it was now temporarily repurposed as a prison ward.
Seeing Wei Yuan arrive, Old Daoist Chuhe chuckled and asked, "Do you know what the true forms of these three creatures are?"
Wei Yuan was startled. "They have true forms? I thought they just looked like this."
The old daoist did not keep him in suspense. "That's only after their transformation. Once their intelligence awakens, they gradually develop the ability to take human form. But upon reaching Scenery Command, they can return to their original, true forms. Look over there—that is their true shape."
Wei Yuan looked and saw three giant clam shells soaking in three separate spiritual pools. Every shell was inlaid with gold and jade, opulent and ostentatious.
It turned out the Mirage Demon clan had originally all been clams. The few born naturally capable of shapeshifting were absolute nobility. The majority had to awaken their intelligence and cultivate before gradually achieving transformation; these demons who transformed later in life were lower-class clansmen.
As for those who failed to awaken intelligence, they were treated as beasts and cast away into rivers, lakes, and seas to fend for themselves. Many among them managed to awaken intelligence later through serendipity, but because they hadn't accomplished it within the prescribed timeframe, they were still rejected by the Mirage Demons.
Chuhe said, "These two have already submitted, so I'll spare them for now. This one hasn't relented yet, which makes it perfect for a demonstration."
As Chuhe drew near, the giant clam actually began to tremble. Unmoved, the old daoist ordered several disciples to pry open the shell with crowbars and insert steel frames into the opening so it couldn't snap shut.
Then the old daoist picked up a handful of fine sand and slowly sprinkled it into the clam shell.
The middle Scenery Command Mirage Demon roared in agony, "Old dog, you'll die a miserable death! Just kill me, kill me now!"
Old Daoist Chuhe waved a hand again, and several disciples brought forward brocade boxes. When the lids opened, inside were grains of sand of varying sizes and materials.
"Different types of sand sprinkled in different locations produce completely different sensations," Old Daoist Chuhe explained as he grabbed a handful of coarse white granules.
"Isn't that salt?" Wei Yuan asked.
"Indeed it is. These are all freshwater mussels."
Chapter 806