Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao

After reaching Deity Transformation, Qin Sang had not yet cultivated in earnest, nor had he closely examined the changes brought about by his breakthrough. He had been continuously searching for the source of the demonic voice. After lingering in the North Sea for a time, Qin Sang flew into the East Sea, eventually even venturing into the storm belt—and found that the demonic voice was everywhere! He also made a new discovery: inside the storm belt, his perception was even clearer than within the cultivation world sheltered by the barrier. Only then did Qin Sang dare conclude that the demonic voice was intertwined with the Heavenly Dao of this realm, perhaps even born of a mutation in the Heavenly Dao itself. This was the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao! For that very reason, only those who had attained a certain realm of cultivation could perceive it. An eerie transformation had befallen the Heavenly Dao of this world! Qin Sang could not help feeling fortunate. Fortunately, it had been his true body that broke through rather than the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. Had the Heavenly Eye Butterfly encountered the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao upon breaking through, there was no telling what the consequences would have been. At the edge of the storm belt. Qin Sang stood amidst the tempest, gazing across the barrier at the vast expanse of the cultivation world's sea. Realizing this was the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao, Qin Sang could not help reflecting on everything that had happened before. Why had Daoist Zilei, the master of a sect and the leader of the Daoist sects, perished in the inner demon tribulation? Why had the ancient demon of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect gone mad? In the battle to subdue the demon, why had the two Deity Transformation cultivators kept helpers by their sides, unable to unleash their full power? Why had the Azure Fox Saint King coveted the Spirit Calming Incense and schemed tirelessly to obtain its formula? ... The question was, when exactly had the demonic voice's mutation begun? Although Qin Sang was shielded by the jade Buddha and spared from the madness within the demonic voice, he could still fathom its horror. To others, especially when undergoing the inner demon tribulation, it would be a fatal threat! If the demonic voice had always existed, Deity Transformation cultivators in this realm would not merely be as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, but virtually unseen in ten thousand years! Eight Views Abbey had endured to this day, producing Deity Transformation masters generation after generation. If Daoist Zilei had known of the Heavenly Dao's mutation and yet faced his tribulation without ample preparation, it would have been tantamount to courting death—which defied reason. Considering also the ascension of the immortal palace, the disappearance of Perfected Danyu, and the ferocious beasts going mad and abandoning their lairs to roam everywhere, Qin Sang could already deduce the answer. It was very likely that the demonic voice had suddenly appeared around the time Ziwei Palace ascended! "Ziwei Palace, the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao, Guixu..." One name after another surfaced in Qin Sang's mind. Those incomparably mysterious secret realms and wondrous spectacles—which, according to the Ghost Mother, should never have existed in a minor thousand world—what earth-shattering secrets did they truly harbor? The Ghost Mother! Qin Sang suddenly wondered: the Ghost Mother's realm had been sealed at the Nascent Soul stage, rendering her unable to break through. Could that have been a form of protection rather than foul play by an enemy? Unfortunately, she had already left this realm, leaving no way to verify it. "The Azure Fox Saint King gave me whatever I asked for, bestowing upon me the Four Sages Spirit Gathering Array and the *Heavenly Demon Mirroring Spirit Sutra*. As expected, he harbored malicious intent! He clearly wanted to help me assault Deity Transformation as early as possible so that I would walk straight into my own doom. Without the jade Buddha, I likely would have perished during the ritual to summon the heavenly demon, never living to see the day I reached Deity Transformation..." Qin Sang's gaze turned cold. The Azure Fox Saint King was perverse and ruthless, having long harbored murderous intent toward him; Qin Sang was not surprised in the least by his treachery. Could Saint Huiguang have harbored any good intentions when stepping in as a mediator? The sanctimonious old monk had merely played along with the Azure Fox Saint King, alternating carrot and stick to placate him and ensure they secured the formula for the Spirit Calming Incense. Qin Sang could fathom seventy to eighty percent of Saint Huiguang's thoughts. With the ascension of the immortal palace, the Buddhist sect had lost the opportunities within it. It would be difficult to guarantee that every generation would produce a Deity Transformation cultivator to dominate Zhongzhou, making a gradual decline inevitable. The immortal path was arduous, yet the cultivators of this realm had at least clung to a glimmer of hope. Once the cultivators of this realm learned that the demonic voice had severed the Dao path and fell into despair, how many could still endure the loneliness of cultivation? When that time came, cultivators dominated by the turbid currents of the Six Desires would inevitably throw the world into chaos. A tree that rises above the forest is bound to be buffeted by the wind; without a Deity Transformation cultivator overseeing things, how long could the Buddhist sect maintain its hegemony? Unfettered powerhouses outside the Buddhist sect like them, unconstrained by any Deity Transformation peer, could run amok across this realm. In Saint Huiguang's eyes, they were all destabilizing factors best eliminated as soon as possible. Even if Saint Huiguang had not actively taken part, he was undoubtedly pleased to see the Azure Fox Saint King's venomous scheme succeed. Only, they could never have imagined that such an extraordinary treasure as the jade Buddha existed in this world! Qin Sang recalled the *Heavenly Demon Mirroring Spirit Sutra* and the entire process of the ritual. His previous conjectures all had to be overturned. The anomaly during the ritual was certainly tied to the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao, yet one could also deduce that the source of the demonic voice was likely not an extraterrestrial heavenly demon. Otherwise, he would have summoned the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao down on the spot. Qin Sang recalled that the shriek during the ritual did not sound like the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao. Could it be that an extraterrestrial heavenly demon had invaded this realm, came into contact with the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao, was affected by it, and let out that shriek? Suddenly, Qin Sang's expression darkened slightly as an even more terrifying conjecture crossed his mind. Back then, he had felt that the shriek sounded very much like a death rattle. Could it be that the first extraterrestrial heavenly demon he summoned was no match for the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao and was obliterated on the spot, and this anomaly alerted a powerhouse among the extraterrestrial heavenly demons, who then cast its gaze upon this realm—which was why the second demonic intent had been so swift and overwhelming? That would explain why the demonic intent condensed into the Lifeless Demon Seal with power far exceeding expectations. Thinking up to this point, Qin Sang furrowed his brows tightly. If that were truly the case... That being, suspected to be a heavenly demon sovereign, had cast its gaze here and clashed with the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao. Unable to descend into this realm smoothly, it had allowed Qin Sang to escape with his life. Yet a connection had been forged between them through the ritual, meaning the entity might well have noticed him through the altar, or even memorized his aura! Legends had it that extraterrestrial heavenly demons regarded cultivators as prey. Once targeted by one, it would be an unending struggle to the death; every time a cultivator broke through or underwent a tribulation, heavenly demons would strike until the cultivator achieved transcendence. However, only when breaking through to the Void Refining stage would a cultivator shake heaven and earth due to the sheer intensity of the tribulation, attracting the prying eyes of external evils. Generally speaking, the strength of the extraterrestrial heavenly demons drawn depended on the power of the tribulation, and the tribulation of the Void Refining stage would hardly catch the eye of a heavenly demon sovereign. Other heavenly demons would not dare contest the prey of a demon sovereign. If he had truly been marked by a heavenly demon sovereign, he would have to face that very demon sovereign during his Void Refining tribulation! The jade Buddha could suppress inner demons, but could it fend off a heavenly demon sovereign? There was no use thinking so far ahead right now. Whether he could even leave this realm was still unknown, and he certainly would not dare restart the ritual anytime soon. Moreover, that extraterrestrial heavenly demon might not even be a demon sovereign; overthinking was merely scaring himself. Qin Sang exhaled softly. Looked at from another angle, the fact that the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao could deter the descent of a suspected demon sovereign without being extinguished proved that the voice was an entity on that same level. The cultivators of this realm reached only the Deity Transformation stage at best; they had no capability whatsoever to resolve the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao, leaving them utterly at its mercy. The only way out was to flee this realm! What were the origins of this minor thousand world, and why had it caught the attention of such mighty entities? Qin Sang was at a total loss. Having figured this out, Qin Sang had to consider where to go from here. Shrouded by the demonic voice and plagued by rampaging beasts, Guixu—where the ascension beacon lay—was far from stable. In fact, the source of the demonic voice was likely deep within Guixu itself. The two Deity Transformation cultivators had organized forces to hunt the ferocious beasts, but who knew what they had obtained from them? "Are Saint Huiguang and the Azure Fox Saint King still in this realm?" Qin Sang felt that they probably would not dare linger in this realm for long. The Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao assaulted their minds at every moment, gradually infecting them with madness. As time passed, the demonic intent would take deep root. If they waited any longer, even if they did not go mad, their strength would be severely impaired, leaving them powerless to brave Guixu. Precisely because of this, although Qin Sang had only just broken through to the Deity Transformation stage, he felt little apprehension toward those two veteran Deity Transformation cultivators. First, his divine abilities and magic treasures were fierce enough; second, the other side had to constantly resist the invasion of the demonic voice and suppress their demonic thoughts, leaving them unable to strike with all their might unless they wished to follow in the footsteps of the ancient demon on Dishou Mountain. Of course, he could not be overconfident either. After all, they had dominated this realm for years, ransacked numerous ancient secret realms, and possessed countless treasures. Putting himself in their shoes, if Qin Sang had not had the jade Buddha, his only option would have been to do everything in his power to flee this realm. The Azure Fox Saint King had boldly snatched the Nanming Primordial Fire and the Spirit Calming Incense formula. Saint Huiguang had joined forces with Tianhao Tower and Eight Views Abbey to hastily establish the Three Religions Alliance, more to maintain stability in the cultivation world than to allow Ganlu Zen Monastery to dominate alone. All these actions indicated that they were desperate to escape. Once all their loose ends were tied up and preparations made, they would likely set off eastward across the sea to seek a way out. Qin Sang was naturally incensed at being plotted against. Yet he had to consider reality above all. With only his own strength, could he brave the mutated Guixu and reach the Gateway of the Beacon? If that path proved impassable, where should he turn? Once Saint Huiguang and the Azure Fox Saint King departed, it would be difficult for another Deity Transformation cultivator to emerge in this realm, and finding a helper would become nigh impossible for Qin Sang. Yet once the two discovered he had attained Deity Transformation, they would inevitably guess he possessed a secret treasure that protected the mind. How could he ensure they would cooperate in earnest without harboring evil designs? Moreover, having just attained Deity Transformation, Qin Sang urgently needed secluded cultivation to stabilize his strength. Even before the mutation, Guixu had not been a place that a newly broken-through Deity Transformation cultivator could recklessly enter. While Qin Sang could afford to take things slowly, the two of them obviously could not wait forever. At this thought, that silhouette he could unconditionally trust flashed across Qin Sang's mind, and his face clouded over. Liuli was already burdened by the sinister art's imprint, leaving a flaw in her state of mind; an inner demon tribulation compounded by the demonic voice would spell certain death! Without resolving the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao, even if the imprint of the sinister art were dispelled, hope would remain dim. Was she truly destined to halt her steps here? "Spirit Calming Incense..." Qin Sang thought of this treasure. The Azure Fox Saint King's claim that he needed a vast quantity of Spirit Calming Incense was undoubtedly a lie. Faced with the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao, simple accumulation of Spirit Calming Incense was not enough to resist it. "They must be trying to improve the formula and refine Spirit Calming Incense with far greater efficacy!" Qin Sang's eyes flickered. With the two Deity Transformation cultivators gathering grandmasters of this art and pooling the strength of both races, it was entirely within the realm of possibility. After pondering for a long time, Qin Sang set off toward Luye rather than wandering outside any longer. Luye rested beside the North Sea. The atmosphere inside the Daoist grounds was rather strange. The external incarnation had been sitting cross-legged atop Luye's main peak without uttering a single word. Not knowing what had happened, Shen Chen and the others had gathered at the foot of the mountain, their minds fraught with unease. Restless and anxious, Shen Chen glanced toward the mountaintop from time to time. After several looks, he suddenly froze, and the others also noticed that an additional figure had appeared beside the incarnation at some unknown moment. "Come up." Qin Sang gave a slight nod toward the foot of the mountain. Shen Chen and the others hurried up the mountain. Led by Shen Chen, they knelt and kowtowed, chanting words of praise in unison. Qin Sang had not deliberately concealed his cultivation realm. Shen Chen and the others felt as though they were facing the very world itself; without any gesture on his part, awe and dread welled up within them. Qin Sang uttered an acknowledgment and looked toward the Dark Moon Guards. "Considering your merits in seeking treasures earlier, this old man shall honor his promise and remove your Dark Moon Seals..." Before Qin Sang could finish his sentence, the Dark Moon Guards kowtowed one after another. "We are willing to enter Qingyang Temple to assist the temple master wholeheartedly and glorify the sect! We beg my Lord to take us in!" Qin Sang chuckled dumbfoundedly. He had originally intended to observe them a bit longer and keep them around for some time, yet before he could voice it, they had petitioned to stay on their own accord. "Enter Qingyang Temple?" Qin Sang's gaze swept over them. With their lives threatened, the Dark Moon Guards had willingly accepted subjugation and stooped to compromise—there was nothing blameworthy in that. However, they were far too adept at shifting with the wind, making it difficult to trust them. In the future, when Qin Sang was no longer in this realm, Shen Chen's strength would be insufficient to keep them down. A weak master and strong subordinates were the root of calamity. "Since you wish to stay, you shall first serve as guest elders of Qingyang Temple. We will decide further depending on your performance," Qin Sang said flatly. The Dark Moon Guards felt a touch of disappointment, yet having their shackles removed and becoming guest elders under a Deity Transformation cultivator was already an opportunity beyond their wildest dreams. Hurriedly, they kowtowed in effusive gratitude. "You may withdraw..." Qin Sang gave a few more instructions to Shen Chen, then waved his sleeve to dismiss everyone. Shen Chen sought Qin Sang's approval to send invitations to all sects and invite fellow Daoists far and wide to hold a Deity Transformation Grand Ceremony, but Qin Sang refused, sending him off despondently. Qin Sang looked down at the tribulation transcendence immortal terrace, waved his hand gently, and retrieved the Bingyi Divine Plate and the Fire Rhinoceros Pendant. The tribulation transcendence array indeed took a heavy toll. The ice plate was no longer translucent, having turned the texture of mutton-fat jade with its cold fiend qi virtually exhausted, and the Fire Rhinoceros Pendant was much the same. The luster of both treasures had dimmed significantly, requiring a long time of nourishment in the future. The grooves along the outer rim of the Taiji Immortal Terrace were empty; all forty-nine Ice-Fire Tokens had been destroyed. Qin Sang inspected the Taiji Immortal Terrace again. Cracks ran across the terrace, but the internal restrictions were relatively intact, making it not difficult to repair and still usable. "Will this rare treasure ever find a use again in the future?" Qin Sang sighed softly. The tribulation transcendence array could only weaken the Three Calamities; it was useless against both the inner demon tribulation and the demonic voice. Flying down the mountain, Qin Sang first visited the belly of the mountain and placed the Bingyi Divine Plate and the Fire Rhinoceros Pendant into a spirit array to be nurtured. Returning to his cave dwelling, Qin Sang sat quietly in contemplation, then cast out a dharmic decree. Deep in the bamboo forest, rustling sounds arose from the cave of the earth-binding dragons. Several earth-binding dragons at the Demon Core stage darted out of the cave, flew to the front of the cave dwelling, and lay docilely on the ground. Then, several specks of light drifted out from the cave dwelling and sank into the glabella of each earth-binding dragon. Their bodies trembled slightly, and their heads pressed even lower, an unusual light gleaming in their eyes with novelty and gratitude. The specks of light were none other than Imperial Flowing Serum, capable of enlightening spirit beasts and awakening their intellect. Qin Sang had obtained it previously, and not much was left now. The incarnation nodded to the true body, walked out of the cave dwelling, and tapped the spirit beast pouch at his waist. The earth-binding dragons scrambled to dart inside. Then, his figure flickered repeatedly as he flew out of Luye. The incarnation should have rested in seclusion inside the cave dwelling to recover his vitality, but fickle were the ways of the world, and he had to be sent out to hustle once more. Leaving Luye, the incarnation headed due east and flew into the East Sea, releasing the earth-binding dragons once he reached the vicinity of the so-called East Sea demon territory. Next, the incarnation returned to the continent alone, passing through the Fujiang Estuary to re-enter Zhongzhou! This was a two-pronged approach: inquiring into the situations of both races to deduce the schemes and movements of his two Deity Transformation counterparts. The true body would remain temporarily in the Luye Daoist grounds to stabilize his cultivation as quickly as possible before making further plans.