Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea

Qin Sang had encountered the Feather Demon King once before. Before entering the Ziwei Palace, one had to traverse the outer immortal formation. The Feather Demon King had employed a sacred treasure of the Witch Clan to locate a flaw in the immortal formation, after which the Minor Beichen Astral Essence Formation could be deployed to force a way inside. The Feather Demon King was exceedingly enigmatic. Even Patriarch Chifa and Daoist Zhenyi held deep apprehension toward him. "It seems the Heavenly Demon Mound is not entirely peaceful within either," Qin Sang remarked thoughtfully. As if recalling a past brush with danger, the white cat said with lingering fear, "Other places are unlike the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea, which has many gentle-tempered vegetation spirits. The territories governed by the great demon kings are relatively orderly, but only internally. If an outside demon beast strays in by accident, they are bound to be skinned alive and devoured whole..." Sitting opposite the white cat, Qin Sang inquired in detail about the state of the Demon Realm. "Does Daoist Friend Liu know of my existence?" Qin Sang continued to ask. He needed allies to help him scheme for the stone slab, yet he knew nothing of the old willow tree's character, and Yunyouzi had not had time to say much back then. Xiao Bai appeared trustworthy; she harbored no malice toward him, and they shared a past acquaintance. He simply did not know whether the other demons of the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea bore any prejudice against the human race. "He knows!" Because of Yunyouzi, the white cat trusted Qin Sang implicitly. "After Senior Bamboo Demon sent word to me, I relayed the message back to the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea. Grandpa Liu instructed me to remain in Xianyao City to await either Senior Bamboo Demon or Young Master Qin's return. Young Master Qin, please rest assured. Grandpa Liu is very kind and utterly devoted to Senior Bamboo Demon." Qin Sang glanced at the white cat. The cat demon's tone carried a hint of urgency, as if she had sensed his hesitation and was eager to dispel his concerns. "Has something happened in the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea?" A thought stirred in Qin Sang's mind, and he asked bluntly without any pretense. The white cat froze, then lowered her head. "Nothing escapes your eyes, Young Master... In recent years, the demon race has also been continuously mobilizing troops to the front line. Not long ago, word reached me that the Feather Demon King issued an order commanding all the great demon kings to keep drilling their forces and prepare for a fight to the death. Rumor has it that this conflict will not be like those of the past; the outcome could be catastrophic. With Senior Bamboo Demon gone, I fear the deception Grandpa Liu and Senior Bamboo Demon left behind cannot hold up. If it is seen through..." War was still brewing, and the demons were temporarily marshaling their ranks strictly by the old rules, proceeding step-by-step. Yet once the situation grew critical and the master of the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea remained absent... Just imagining the dire consequences caused the white cat to shudder involuntarily. Yunyouzi had never anticipated that Sin Abyss would stage a resurgence so quickly, nor that tensions would escalate to such a degree. The arrangements he had left behind would likely not hold for long. The demon beasts of the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea understood that if the lips perish, the teeth grow cold. They were not refusing to join the war; rather, they feared that other demon kings would see through their weakness, causing all their demons—regardless of age or strength—to be herded to the front lines. On the battlefield, without a demon king to shield them, they would be reduced to mere cannon fodder. Furthermore, a portion of the demons in the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea were plants and flora that had attained enlightenment. Many vegetation spirits possessed meager combat abilities; sending them to the battlefield would be nothing short of suicide. "Senior Bamboo Demon held you in the highest regard, Young Master Qin. Do you have any way to help?" The white cat looked up at Qin Sang, her eyes brimming with hope. Now that Yunyouzi had fallen, she could only place all her hopes on Qin Sang. Hearing this, Qin Sang felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulders, sensing immense pressure. Before passing away, Yunyouzi had entrusted the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea to him, so he would naturally do everything within his power. Yet he had not even attained the Nascent Soul stage; sheltering an entire domain was truly asking too much of him. Even so, to Qin Sang, the perilous plight of the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea might well present an opportunity. The Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea desperately needed a pillar of support. Their best option would be to do everything they could to help him secure the mysterious stone slab and aid him in forming his Nascent Soul. With that thought, he resolved to go to the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea first. Rising to his feet, Qin Sang paced back and forth, murmuring, "Before the crisis reaches a boiling point, I might be able to buy you some time. But once things turn genuinely critical, there is not much I can do—unless I break through to the Nascent Soul stage beforehand." Qin Sang's reply caused the white cat's eyes to brighten. Immediately after, she heard something unexpected. "Can you step away right now and guide me to the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea to meet Daoist Friend Liu?" Qin Sang paused briefly before asking. "Young Master Qin wants to go to the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea?" Worry washed over the white cat's face. "I stayed in Xianyao City precisely to wait for you, so I can depart at any moment. However, the journey back to the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea is long and requires detouring around the territories of other demon kings. I should have no trouble, but Young Master Qin is human." A human cultivator entering the Heavenly Demon Mound would stand out conspicuously and be easily discovered. "As long as I am not human, it will be fine, right? What do you think of this..." Silently chanting an incantation, Qin Sang channeled the divine power of the Heavenly Demon Transformation. A pair of phoenix wings sprouted from his back, and demonic qi surged from his body, incomparably pure. Disregarding his human shape and features, anyone would easily mistake him for a demon beast. The white cat's eyes went wide with shock. "Young Master Qin was originally from the demon race too? No wonder!" Qin Sang felt helpless. He had no idea what this cat demon was thinking, leaping to the conclusion that his soul was merged between human and demon, just like Yunyouzi. "I am not of the demon race. I merely cultivate a secret technique that not only manifests a pair of wings, but also produces demonic qi from nothing. Look at this as well!" As he spoke, Qin Sang channeled the disguise technique imparted to him by Yuan Zhu. His aura instantly turned obscured and reserved, appearing utterly fathomless. "I can disguise myself as a Transformation stage great demon. Stepping forward personally should be enough to deter those with ill intent and stop them from pressing the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea for a time. However, this secret technique will be unmasked the moment I expend true essence; it is merely a bluff." Qin Sang explained the flaw of the secret technique to the white cat, sighing, "Safety gained through external tricks is merely fleeting, like flowers in a mirror or the moon on the water—nothing more than an illusion. To stand firm in the cultivation world, true strength is the only foundation." The white cat nodded repeatedly in deep understanding. Hearing that Qin Sang truly had a way to resolve the crisis of the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea, even if only temporarily, she could not suppress her excitement, her tail swishing back and forth. "Young Master Qin, there is no time to lose. Let us depart at once!" The white cat acted decisively, settling every minor affair within the very same day. With only the two of them traveling, their pace would be exceptionally swift. Even with the Heavenly Demon Transformation active, Qin Sang's appearance remained overly conspicuous. He had no wish to bump into other demon kings out in the open; if one of them took a sudden whim to spar with him, would his ruse not be exposed immediately? They kept as low a profile as possible, selecting secluded and rugged paths. Aided by additional concealment measures, they arrived at the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea without any mishaps. The Xiaohan Realm and the Tianxing Alliance stood to the north and south, separated by the Yuncang Great Marsh. Further west, the Yuncang Great Marsh gradually narrowed into the Yuncang River, its waters surging forth to empty into the vast and desolate Ice Sea in the far west of the Beichen Realm. The Heavenly Demon Mound occupied the northwestern coastline of the Beichen Realm, forming a long and narrow stretch of land that extended south well beyond the Yuncang River. South of the river lay a barren desert, however, so most demon kings preferred to carve out domains north of the river. Along the northern bank near the sea stretched a vast expanse of rolling mountains, where boundless bamboo groves grew over hills and plains as far as the eye could see. Hence, it was known as the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea.