Dark Clouds in the Black Demon Abyss

Hearing Ziyuan Xiaolu's words, Qi Yuan was not surprised. The Black Demon Abyss was inherently loose, with its various branches fighting their own battles. Not everyone was willing to stir up strife with Guiyu Heaven. "It seems Hei Jian's commanding authority... is still lacking a bit," Qi Yuan remarked casually. He had self-awareness. In the hearts of the Black Demon Abyss, Hei Jian was their leader, one of their own. As for him, at most he was the tyrant of Ziyuan Heaven. "Those people are too much. In a major event like this, they still can't form a united front. Once the Linya Molt begins, who knows what will happen?" Ziyuan Xiaolu's voice carried a hint of worry. It seemed she was dissatisfied with the higher-ups' decisions. Qi Yuan, on the other hand, did not care. He had no connection to the other regions of the Black Demon Abyss anyway, being familiar only with Ziyuan Heaven. "Since war has broken out, are we going to participate?" Qi Yuan asked, his tone rather expectant. After all, he was counting on Guiyu Heaven for his offensive Creation Treasure. Ziyuan Xiaolu nodded and whispered, "Still, Senior Brother Blood Robe, you must be careful. Heavenly Venerable Da Le of Guiyu Heaven perished because of you, so... Guiyu Heaven might deliberately target you!" Ziyuan Xiaolu did not ask how Qi Yuan had broken out of the deadly situation. After all, to her, such a matter certainly involved secrets. It was better to know less. "They'll target me?" Qi Yuan's eyes lit up. Ziyuan Xiaolu paused, surprised, but still answered truthfully, "Once this battle begins, Senior Brother Blood Robe, try not to stray from the main force. Otherwise, Yang Gods might even strike at you!" Before, when the two factions had not yet declared war, they might have maintained some shred of propriety. "Yang Gods?" Qi Yuan blinked. "That great?" Ziyuan Xiaolu was rendered speechless. Geniuses like them were Yin Gods; the difference between a Yin God and a Yang God was like that between earth and sky. Yet Senior Brother Blood Robe was this eager—she was utterly baffled. "Senior Brother, you have to be careful! Those are Yang Gods!" "What Yang God? They're nothing more than my white moonlight!" Qi Yuan was filled with anticipation. If it were in the past, he might still have hesitated. Now that he had comprehended a Supreme Ultimate Principle, he needed to trade blows with Yang Gods more often to stabilize it. "Huh?" Ziyuan Xiaolu clearly did not understand what "white moonlight" meant. Yet thinking of something, Qi Yuan's face suddenly clouded with worry. "You're quite right. I have to keep a low profile." After all, he was so ethereal and otherworldly; what if Guiyu Heaven's Great Ultimate Principles teamed up with the Banner Lord to attack him? Then he'd be finished. Hearing this, Ziyuan Xiaolu breathed a sigh of relief. ... Black Demon Abyss, an unknown location. Two terrifying figures lurked in hiding, their divine souls communicating constantly. "Are you sure?" An androgynous voice asked, tinged with slight hesitation. "Now that Taihuang Palace is presiding over the Linya Molt, we have no time to hesitate," an aged voice answered firmly. "But... Hei Jian has comprehended a Supreme Ultimate Principle. He is enough to lead us..." "Hei Jian is merely the Supreme Ultimate Principle of that personage; what does that have to do with us? When the Linya Molt begins, will he have the ability to protect us? This Linya Molt will be the most brutal since the dawn of creation!" the aged voice said. "You want to make a move against Hei Jian?" "After all, he has comprehended a Supreme Ultimate Principle. Even if we catch him off guard, it would be difficult to kill him. However... we can strike at... Ziyuan. The old fellow has never liked him. This time, because of Blood Robe, he bears a grudge against the old fellow once more, deepening the conflict between them. We shall use Blood Robe as bait to lure him into the trap," the aged voice said, thick with killing intent. "But he is a Great Ultimate Principle. Even if we strike together... it will be difficult to make him stay." "Look, what is this?" The aged voice held a trace of gleeful triumph. "Root... Demon Blood! Where did you get that?" The androgynous voice trembled. This was the fabled Root Demon Blood. This blood was priceless, known as the Ultimate Principle Killer. Once deployed, Root Demon Blood could evoke the Root Demon Tribulation within the heart of an Ultimate Principle Realm Yang God. For many old fellows, the descent of a Root Demon Tribulation very likely meant perishing. Yet Root Demon Blood was exceedingly rare; even across the Sixth Heaven, there were scarcely any portions of it. "Taihuang Palace is presiding over the Linya Molt. This Root Demon Blood... naturally..." The aged voice trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid. It involved Taihuang Palace, as well as the Hall of Uniqueness. "Fine. This matter... count me in," the androgynous voice gritted out. At this juncture, there was no room for hesitation. Now that the curtain had been raised, one had to pick a side; the fence-sitters were always the first to die. Currently, dark clouds hung over the Black Demon Abyss. When mighty experts were doomed to fall, better a fellow Daoist perish than oneself. If that Root Demon Blood were used on him, he wouldn't fare well either. On the other side, within Demon Pass, Qi Yuan's figure appeared. Guiyu Heaven had declared war on the Black Demon Abyss, and five branches of the Black Demon Abyss responded to the call: namely, Black Demon Heaven, Ziyuan Heaven, Bingxuan Heaven, Yinhun Heaven, and Yangchi Heaven. The five branches gathered at Demon Pass. Demon Pass towered majestic and fathomlessly high, its bluestone battlements riddled with scars, bearing marks left behind by colossal battles. Outside Demon Pass, several hundred minor stars circled like embellishments. Outside Demon Pass, countless great battles had unfolded. During the previous Linya Molt, the Black Demon Abyss had relied on Demon Pass to hold off enemies, waging earth-shattering battles that shattered worlds. These minor stars were world remnants gathered by Yang God Heavenly Venerables with supreme magical power and refined in imitation of astral projections. At this moment, the proud prodigies of the five branches stood atop Demon Pass, gazing at the stars ahead, all showing expressions of shock. "Rumor has it that beyond the Sixth Heaven, there are many worlds that are not round skies over flat earth, but spherical stars. The astral projections of Yang Gods were fashioned in imitation of those stars," Bing Jian explained, gazing at the stars. "These astral projections look quite like chicken eggs," a prodigy remarked in confusion. "With such a massive egg... how could mortals stand on the opposite side without falling off?" This prodigy had evidently been in secluded cultivation all along and was unfamiliar with cutting-edge knowledge of the cultivation world. "Might... is a force. It attracts weaker things. The weak adhere to it and do not fall off," Bing Jian explained simply. These words reminded Qi Yuan of what had been said about the Great Tribulation—might was a tribulation. Because stars were vast, they involuntarily exerted a force, drawing... some inexplicable attention? Before he could ponder further, Horned Sis's voice rang out. "As expected of Senior Brother Bing Jian, a master egg-layer. You've researched things of your own kind quite thoroughly," Ziyuan Daxue remarked, mushrooms spewing from her mouth as she spoke. Hearing this, Bing Jian's forehead sprouted black lines. He felt he really ought to stay far away from Ziyuan Daxue. He shouldn't have spoken up. Sure enough, at Ziyuan Daxue's words, many prodigies present recalled what had happened during their recent trip to the Ultimate Principle Dao Discussion Conference, casting sympathetic glances at Bing Jian. At this point, Qi Yuan looked at Bing Jian with deep admiration. "Brother Bing Jian, once you become a Yang God, if you lay eggs the size of stars, could you give me a few? I'm very curious." He had seen real stars, but he had never seen an egg the size of a star. More and more black lines appeared on Bing Jian's forehead as he quietly retreated behind the crowd. Today, he really shouldn't have tried to show off his knowledge. He hadn't been struck by lightning, but he had suffered an even worse fate. "You kids, honestly, every single day..." At that moment, a Yang God appeared, a helpless expression in his tone. "Greetings, Heavenly Venerable!" All the prodigies bowed in salute. Before a Yang God, basic respect was still necessary. "War is about to erupt. Senior Brother Hei Jian sent me to brief you on relevant matters. This battle against Guiyu Heaven is no child's play. You must all exercise utmost caution. These are your merit tablets. Slaying one Great Venerable earns one point. Accumulating two hundred merit points allows you to redeem... one Yang God Bequest!" Hearing this, the breathing of the prodigies present grew heavy. The prodigies qualified to be here all had hopes of stepping into the Yang God Realm. Yet not everyone could achieve it. After all, even if their cultivation reached the threshold, without resources or accumulated astral projection foundations, reaching the Yang God Realm was extraordinarily difficult. With a Yang God Bequest, however, things were different. Yang God Bequests often contained dormant Yang God astral projections. One could say that once their cultivation was sufficient, they could ascend directly to the Yang God Realm. This could save immense amounts of time. For instance, among the prodigies here, Ziyuan Xiaolu came from ordinary beginnings, unlike Horned Sis who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. After reaching the Mythological peak, she would need to accumulate hundreds of thousands or even millions of years worth of resources and foundation before she could hoist an astral projection and step into the Yang God Realm. Many prodigies were deeply tempted. War carried risks, but also massive rewards. "How many merits for killing a Yang God?" Qi Yuan couldn't help asking. This question dumbfounded the Yang God. The other prodigies, however, were accustomed to such antics. He shot Qi Yuan a meaningful look. "An ordinary Lesser Heavenly Position Yang God earns one Major Merit." "Can Major Merit be exchanged for Black Demon Ancestral Blood?" Qi Yuan asked expectantly. Had anyone else asked, the Yang God likely wouldn't have bothered answering. But this was Blood Robe, so he answered seriously. "No." Black Demon Ancestral Blood was practically reserved exclusively for the Old Ancestors. Even he had never received any. Recalling that Blood Robe had been gifted Black Demon Ancestral Blood by the Old Ancestor right after arriving at Ziyuan Heaven, this Yang God felt a twinge of envy and jealousy. "Not even Black Demon Ancestral Blood... why so stingy? Surely there's an offensive Creation Treasure, right?" Qi Yuan asked. Right now, in the Black Demon Abyss, what he valued most were Black Demon Ancestral Blood and an offensive Creation Treasure. "No..." The Yang God thought for a moment before answering Qi Yuan. He was inwardly quite speechlessly exasperated. From what he knew, there were probably only one or two offensive Creation Treasures in the entire Black Demon Abyss. How could such treasures be handed out casually? "Then... what useful things are there?" Qi Yuan was exasperated too. This Black Demon Abyss truly was rather poor. "One Major Merit can be exchanged for two Yang God Bequests, as well as other Dharma treasures, pills..." The Yang God Heavenly Venerable slowly rattled off the names of a heap of rare pills and treasures. Every single pill made the prodigies present green with envy. These treasures and pills could not only enhance a Yang God's combat power, but some could also accelerate the condensation of an avatar body, such as the Earth Imperial Origin Pill. Some could even expand the breadth and depth of an astral projection; even ordinary Yang God Heavenly Venerables would be tempted. Listening to this dazzling array of pill names, Qi Yuan's heart remained completely unruffled. These rewards failed to arouse his interest. "Sigh, if someone used these as bride prices to marry me, I'd still turn them down. In the end, I'm just here doing poverty relief," Qi Yuan sighed. Ziyuan Daxue grinned. "If you have Major Merit, why not exchange it for the mushrooms in my mouth? For one Major Merit, I'll give you a jin. How about that?" "You look so beautiful, so why are your dreams just as beautiful?" The two traded lighthearted jabs. "Ahead of Demon Pass, the stars formed from world remnants count as a corner of the battlefield. When you head to the front line, you must exercise caution, and it is best to form teams." The Yang God Heavenly Venerable spoke, then glanced at Qi Yuan. "Senior Brother Hei Jian asked me to pass a message to you: in this war, you must be careful. Battle merits are not important; what matters... is staying alive!" Hearing this, the other prodigies were all full of envy. Hearing this, An Xunlu felt a pang of envy and jealousy. Big Brother Hei Jian hadn't even told her to stay safe, yet he went out of his way to tell Blood Robe to stay safe. She felt sour. "Relax. I'm always cautious; I never do anything I'm not confident in," Qi Yuan answered lazily. The Yang God Heavenly Venerable nodded in satisfaction. This fellow Blood Robe was quite steady after all. Because Blood Robe had suffered an ambush, he now drew the attention of many Yang Gods. If he were ambushed and killed, the morale of the Black Demon Abyss would plummet. Meanwhile, some higher-ups of the Black Demon Abyss also vaguely wished to use Blood Robe as a pawn to set a trap for Guiyu Heaven. Of course, that had been vetoed by Ancestor Ziyuan. "I'm planning to hunt Yang Gods. Who has the best intel and knows the most about Guiyu Heaven's Yang Gods? Team up with me!" Qi Yuan called out loudly. The Yang God, who had just thought Qi Yuan was steady, was struck dumb. Hunting Yang Gods—how could you say such a thing with a straight face? He couldn't be bothered to respond. The other prodigies looked at each other in dismay; they didn't believe Qi Yuan's words, nor did they dare team up with him. Seeing this, Qi Yuan couldn't help saying, "I am the Tyrant of Ziyuan Heaven. Is no one going to team up with me?" What he lacked most was information. Combat strength, he did not lack. At this moment, Ziyuan Daxue chuckled boisterously. "I am the Mama of Ziyuan Heaven. I'll team up with you." Qi Yuan paused. Tyrant of Ziyuan Heaven? Mama of Ziyuan Heaven? Were these matching couple screen names? Before he could think further, Ziyuan Xiaolu also spoke up timidly, "I'll join too."