The Demon Lord's Invasion

Chapter 14: The Demon

Just as the night fades, dawn breaks. The darkness before Jiang Tang’s eyes finally lifted, but the sight that greeted him left him stunned for quite some time. “Where am I?” Gazing at the misty sky and the realm of Chaos, Jiang Tang was completely dumbfounded. Dongfang scooped up a handful of black soil from the ground, glanced at the only low, black hill in the distance, and said, “There are no Yuan Qi particles here, but there’s another kind of particle that’s eating away at my body.” “Huh?” Jiang Tang froze. After closing his eyes to sense the energy, his expression immediately turned grim. Dongfang watched as the readings on his wristwatch dropped—first slowly, then faster and faster—and immediately said, “These particles are extremely powerful, far surpassing Yuan Energy. Not only do they devour the Yuan Energy of cultivators and demon cores, but they also consume any substance imbued with Yuan Energy. At this rate, it won’t be long before this puppet body is rendered useless.” Jiang Tang stared at Dongfang in astonishment. When he saw tiny black spots beginning to appear on Dongfang’s body, his expression grew even more somber. “We have half an hour at most. If we don’t find a way to counter these particles, we’ll definitely be in grave danger.” After saying this, Dongfang fired a spiderweb projectile at a withered tree. To his surprise, the tree—which appeared rotten and weathered—remained completely undamaged. Dongfang paid no heed, however. Instead, he flew over to the dead tree, his eyes gleaming with intensity as he closely observed the spiderweb on the tree gradually turning black. Meanwhile, Jiang Tang was also surveying his surroundings. For some reason, he gradually began to feel terrible—oppressed, disgusted, filled with hatred, and irritable. These increasingly intense emotions caused him great anguish, and all he wanted to do was vent. “What’s wrong with you?” After observing the darkening of the spiderweb and noticing something was off with Jiang Tang, Dongfang immediately floated behind him. “I feel terrible,” Jiang Tang said as he turned his head, causing Dongfang to instinctively step back a zhang. Looking at Jiang Tang’s bloodshot eyes, he said, “Jiang Tang, you need to calm down. Your nerves are being affected.” “I know, but I just can’t control it. Images that fill me with revulsion and hatred keep popping into my mind. But… I know what it is now… a demon…” As he said this, Jiang Tang froze in place. At the same time, the Jiang Tang within Dongfang Hun’s spiritual perception radiated a chilling, murderous aura, while the Jiang Tang before him was now shrouded in black mist. His already swarthy, bare torso began to turn black in patches, as if stained with ink. Suddenly, the blood-red in Jiang Tang’s pupils began to condense, as if being violently squeezed into a ball by countless tiny black hands. The rest of his eyes had turned pitch-black and lifeless, with only a single, crystalline point of blood-red at the center emitting an eerie, malevolent glow. In an instant, Dongfang’s hands transformed into cannons, and eight bone spines shot out from his back simultaneously; spiderweb projectiles and spider silk instantly bound Jiang Tang’s entire body like a rice dumpling! “Jiang Tang, don’t split off your conscious mind—that will make you even harder to control. Listen to me: the demon particles are indeed powerful, but no matter how strong they are, they’re still particles—they’re energy. They can’t possibly give rise to independent thought…” With two sharp “swish” sounds, before Dongfang could finish speaking, Jiang Tang’s body was already engulfed in roaring black flames. He broke free from the spiderweb, instantly drew his twin blades, and lunged at Dongfang. Dongfang leapt backward while shouting, “Energy has no thought. It cannot devour you—rather, you are devouring it, absorbing it. But this ‘you’ is not the complete you—it is only a part of you…” “Clang!” As the curved blades collided with the bone spikes, the crack in Dongfang’s back—which he had only recently healed—reopened. Without further exchange, Dongfang immediately soared into the air and said once more, “Humans possess seven emotions and six desires. Right now, only anger and malice are controlling you. You still have the other five emotions and six desires—which hold an absolute numerical advantage. Under no circumstances should you separate from them; instead, fuse with them. Use your five emotions and six desires to devour the demonic particles. Don’t…” Jiang Tang suddenly shot upward like an arrow leaving the bowstring, charging straight toward Dongfang. With a flick of his twin blades, he clashed with Dongfang’s bone spines more than ten times in an instant. “Crack!” Finally, a bone spike broke free from Dongfang’s back, falling onto the black earth along with a few tiny shards. Jiang Tang landed at the same time, but the moment his feet touched the black soil, he shot back up again in an instant, swinging his twin blades at Dongfang. “Do you remember the girl who sat in the classroom all those years ago? Her profile, her every smile and frown, the heartache you felt when she interacted with other boys—the sorrow? Did you feel terror when facing death for the first time? Your parents from your past life…” Jiang Tang’s swing of the blade suddenly halted, as if he were struggling with himself, but after only a moment, the blade still came down—though, because his body had begun to fall, the blow missed Dongfang entirely. “Jiang Tang, you’re so foolish. Have you forgotten that you’re still a virgin? Having lived as a virgin for over thirty years across two lifetimes, without even knowing what a woman feels like—I feel sorry for you…” “Get lost!” Jiang Tang suddenly roared at Dongfang, who was high above him, but after the roar, he froze in shock! “Kill him! Suddenly, a cloud of black mist drifted toward Jiang Tang, coalescing into a massive, hideous head. The head was that of a beast—a tiger’s face with bull’s horns—and as it swirled around Jiang Tang, its alluring voice kept echoing in his ears. “Why, after ten years of arduous cultivation, have you come to this?” “Why must you, as a descendant of a collateral branch, endure such oppression?” “Is it that the Way of Heaven is unjust? Or is human nature evil?” “Ao Heng, think about it. For your family, for your branch of the clan, you’ve constantly proven yourself—but how has the main branch treated you? A sacrifice? No, that was just an excuse. the Ao clan’s ancestors aren’t even in this realm. They took your essence, marrow, and spirit to give to the main branch’s descendants—to make their offspring stronger, so they can forever tower over the branch families and oppress you endlessly. Whenever a branch family produces someone of extraordinary talent, they strip that person of everything under the absurd pretext of a sacrifice, all to satisfy those lazy, unambitious main branch scions who know nothing but living off others’ hard work!” “Feel the rage, feel the fury—kill him, then return to the Main Branch at Nikuang Mountain to crush them and trample them underfoot. Rest assured, with my help, you will become the mightiest being in the world, trampling hundreds of millions of living beings beneath your feet. Why fear a mere Nikuang Mountain?” “What’s so great about being merely the strongest in the world?” Dongfang suddenly floated down and tempted the dazed Jiang Tang, saying, “Jiang Tang, with my help, you’ll become the number one in the universe. This realm is nothing more than a beginner’s village—what’s the point of dominating a beginner’s village? You must understand: if you’re controlled by Rage and Evil, you’ll lose everything. Even if you avenge yourself, you won’t feel any satisfaction. What’s the point of living if you’re a guy who can’t even get hard in front of a naked beauty? Don’t forget the fear of death. Don’t forget the grief of your parents from both lifetimes. Don’t forget the girl you loved walking away with someone else. Don’t forget…” As Dongfang spoke, the sinister, blood-red glow in Jiang Tang’s eyes gradually faded. “Damn it! You think I won’t understand just because you’re speaking Jizhou dialect?” The Beast Head roared, opening its mouth to devour Dongfang—only to find that it drifted past him like a wisp of smoke. “Shandong accent. You’re nothing more than a shadow spirit yourself. If you want to hurt me, you’ll have to completely destroy this puppet body first.” Dongfang said contemptuously, then turned to Jiang Tang: “Merge. Completely merge the seven emotions and six desires—until there is no distinction between you and me. The demonic particles are merely nourishment for you; let them nourish your flesh, blood, tendons, and bones. Do not resist.” Jiang Tang’s needle-sharp blood-red pupils dilated, instantly filling his eye sockets, then the blood vessels slowly receded, gradually returning to normal. “Damn it!” The beast’s head roared furiously. With a flick of its divine consciousness, the demonic energy coiling around Jiang Tang’s body surged even more violently. Just as the beast’s head was about to cast another spell of seduction, Jiang Tang pulled out a glass vial and said, “I must reforge my bloodline and repair my physical body. Only then can I refine the demonic energy. If I fail, Dongfang, you must destroy me—don’t let this creature take over my body.” With that, Jiang Tang poured out three drops of Netherfire and, using the same method as before, slapped them directly onto his chest. “Boom!” Black flames surged upward, like a roaring ancient dragon, voicing its resentment. “Ha,Ha ha!” After a moment of surprise, the beast-headed figure actually laughed, looking as though his devious plan had succeeded. “That isn’t Underworld Fire at all—it’s demonic blood, and the most ancient kind: the Formless Demon Blood. The Formless Demon has no roots or origin; it is the embodiment of the demonic thoughts of countless beings in the heavens and earth, encompassing all the evil in the world. By devouring his blood, you are undoubtedly planting a demonic seed within yourself!” “I see. But desire knows no bounds, and of all evils, lust reigns supreme. Tell me, do you think he’s become insatiably greedy? Or is he simply a lecher?” Dongfang said, stroking his chin. “You…” The Beast Head was truly at a loss for words with this fellow and snorted coldly, “What is love? What is desire? How can they compare to the merciless intent to kill? Aside from killing, he will never have a second thought.” “That’s impossible,” Dongfang said, shaking his smooth little head slightly. “If he uses the intent to kill to sever and annihilate his emotions and desires, it’s possible he could become a killing machine. But if they remain in a state of fusion, the demonic intent will only give rise to one emotion and one desire—namely, ruthlessness and the lust for killing. But have you ever considered where that ruthlessness would be applied? And where that lust for killing would be applied? If it’s only used against enemies… heh.” The Beast Head was dumbfounded; he had never considered this angle before. Yet, his heart began to race with panic, for there had once been another who had come here, fused with demonic blood in the same way, and then left as if nothing had happened! The Beast Chief had been deeply resentful back then and didn’t want to let him off so easily. But what could he do? If he kept him here any longer, this shattered Demon Realm might very well end up under his control! Because once he entered this place and cultivated a Demon丹, if he wasn’t released, not only would he devour all the demonic energy, but he would inevitably refine the Demon Realm itself. By then, the Beast-Headed One would truly have lost both his wife and his army! “Impossible. In thirty thousand years, out of countless cultivators, only one has ever succeeded. He absolutely cannot be the second!” The Beast Head began to panic; even he felt a pang of guilt as he uttered these words. This was because Jiang Tang’s current condition was highly unusual: although demonic energy was surging wildly into his body, his skin had not turned black; instead, it had taken on a bronze-like luster. Furthermore, the charred, withered skin on his body was slowly peeling away. “Oh no!” the Beast Head exclaimed in alarm. Just as he was about to act, he heard Dongfang say, “For the sake of being fellow Shandong natives, let’s just drop it, Shandong accent.” “Pfft! Even if I die at the hands of the very ‘fellow villager’ you’re talking about, all this talk of ‘following the Way of Heaven’ is nothing but bullshit!” The Beast-Headed Demon roared, ranting wildly: “There’s nothing wrong with living in accordance with the Way of Heaven, but the true Way of Heaven is the absence of any way at all. Whether human, ghost, or god, there are few wise ones in this world. They all believe that life and death are predestined; once dead, one must enter the cycle of reincarnation to purify the three souls and seven spirits and recreate oneself. Little do they know that once you enter the cycle of reincarnation, you will forever forget your past life. You are no longer you, and I am no longer me. Even if you cultivate the Great Dao and regain knowledge of your past life, is that the you of yesterday? Or the you of tomorrow? Since this order of the Way so utterly disregards one’s true self—if I cannot shatter it, must I not escape? Must you really beat me until my spirit and soul are utterly annihilated?”