The Demon Lord's Invasion

Chapter 15: Joining Forces

The beast’s head roared wildly, venting the anger and resentment in its heart. But in Dongfang’s eyes, it was nothing more than an immature child! As long as the Beast Head’s clamour didn’t interfere with Jiang Tang, Dongfang couldn’t care less. The Beast Head clearly had no idea it had fallen into Dongfang’s trap; it kept rambling on and on. By the time it suddenly realized something was wrong, it was already too late! “Damn it!” The Beast Head suddenly noticed a change in Jiang Tang’s posture—he had shifted from a curled-up position to a cross-legged one, and what little demonic energy remained in the shattered Demon Realm was frantically converging on him. “Damn kid!” The Beast Head roared in fury, opening his mouth as his divine sense coalesced into a needle. “You said it yourself—it’s been thirty thousand years. Look at yourself now. Isn’t your life getting worse and worse? It’s not that you’re not strong enough; it’s that you lack ambition. Your life of just getting by has become your prison.” Dongfang’s words, too, pierced like needles, shaking the Beast Head’s very soul. He snapped his head around, aiming the Shattered Divine Needle at Dongfang. “Killing me would be a piece of cake for you, but you’ve never done it—not because you lack the resolve, but because of loneliness. It’s like a cat toying with a mouse; if you don’t play until the mouse is completely exhausted, how will you pass the time in the loneliness that follows? By raising ants?” “As outsiders, we face endless rejection. Let’s join forces—not only to pass the time in this tedious life, but also to let the world know just how terrifying we are!” Dongfang turned around and held out her small hand toward the beast’s head, like a high monk—the reincarnation of the Buddha—urging someone to lay down their weapon, her entire being radiating a majestic, sacred, and inviolable aura. The God-Shattering Needle swiftly disintegrated, dissolving into fine threads that merged into the beast’s head. “Roar!” Three hundred thousand years of barely clinging to life culminated in a single furious roar that shook the earth and the mountains. A black light blossomed like a dandelion in the secret chamber at the very depths of the ant nest. As the black light faded, Jiang Tang and Dongfang appeared simultaneously in the secret chamber. “This is a fragment of the Demon Realm. Since you’re only at the mid-stage of the Yuanwu Realm, you can’t refine it yet. Keep it close to your body for now—don’t put it in your storage pouch, or it’ll burst it open.” The beast’s head, transformed into a tiny Xiao Huo, handed a small cube to Jiang Tang. Jiang Tang nodded, took the tiny black box, and asked curiously, “Can I go inside at any time to absorb demonic energy and cultivate?” The Xiao Huo replied immediately, “Yes, but the demonic energy inside is nearly depleted. It needs to be nourished—preferably with cultivators as sustenance.” “Demon particles multiply by devouring and splitting Yuan particles. On average, ten points of Yuan Power can cause one demon particle to split into two.” It was Dongfang who spoke. He looked at Jiang Tang solemnly and said, “You’d better not rush into cultivation. First, your Yuan Qi isn’t ready for cultivation yet; absorbing too much demonic energy will create an unbalanced situation that’s hard to control. You need balance. Second, this kind of energy likely isn’t tolerated by this world.” “The monk is right, kid. If the entire cultivation world finds out you’re turning into a demon, you’ll face an endless hunt.” Jiang Tang looked at the Xiao Huo, paused for a moment, and asked, “What exactly are you?” “Me! Hmph, hmph…” The Xiao Huo suddenly swelled with pride, instantly transforming into a massive beast’s head. From its ferocious muzzle, a human voice spoke: “I am from the Ancient Times…” “Just call him Qiong Sang,” Dongfang suddenly interjected. “Oh!” Jiang Tang nodded blankly. The Xiao Huo was instantly displeased and was about to prove a point when Dongfang said to him, “You’re not as greedy as the Taotie, not as evil as the Tou Wu, not as powerful as the Chaos, and not even as skilled at seducing people’s hearts as I am. What’s the matter? Do you want to embarrass yourself to the point of no return?” The Xiao Huo froze, while Jiang Tang seemed to grasp something; a light bulb went off in his head, and he pointed at the little figure, exclaiming, “You’re in the puppet shows too—though there, you’re one of the Four Monsters of Japan.” “What the heck?” The Xiao Huo was clearly confused. “Don’t pay him any mind—he’ll be dead before long.” Dongfang’s single remark left the Xiao Huo at a loss for words, torn between laughter and tears. Finally, as if coming to some realization, he sighed, “Ah, if I’m just Qiong Sang, so be it. It doesn’t matter anymore.” Dongfang said calmly, “Now, our next step is to find spiritual marrow for Jiang Tang. Shandong Accent, you’ve lived here the longest—do you know where to find some?” Qiong Sang didn’t seem to mind Dongfang’s choice of words; he shook his head and said, “I’ve been hiding out here for over ten thousand years. Even if I knew, it’s surely gone by now.” Upon hearing this, Jiang Tang asked in confusion, “Weren’t you still here a few thousand years ago…?” Dongfang cut him off: “Time gaps. The ancient texts of the Nine Provinces are inherently vague. There’s no point discussing this now. Jiang Tang, what you need to focus on is the spiritual marrow—the stronger, the better. Ideally, it should be able to counterbalance the demonic blood and form a balance of yin and yang; otherwise, your cultivation will be very difficult.” Jiang Tang pondered for a moment and was just about to speak when suddenly his expression changed! At the same moment, Qiong Sang exclaimed in alarm, “Oh no, we’ve been discovered. I’d better hide for a bit.” With that, Qiong Sang transformed into a wisp of black smoke and drifted into the black box in Jiang Tang’s hand. “I have some research to do. You figure out a way to escape,” Dongfang said. With that, he, too, turned into a streak of light and entered the black box. Jiang Tang wanted to go in as well, but since he hadn’t yet refined the black box, entering it would be like handing himself over on a silver platter—and what if someone else refined him… “Haha, I’ve finally found you! Shatter this!” Accompanied by a maniacal laugh, the ceiling of the secret chamber shook violently. Soon after, a young man stepped off a massive boulder and landed inside the chamber; in an instant, his gaze locked onto Jiang Tang. “Someone beat me to it? Very well, kid. Hand over the Mustard Seed Space.” Jiang Tang furrowed his brow and instinctively clutched the black box tighter. Qiong Sang had mentioned earlier that the black box couldn’t be stored in a storage pouch; aside from refining it, the only option was to carry it on his person. Although the black box emitted no Yuan Energy fluctuations and appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary black square stone, Jiang Tang’s cautious movements still alerted the intruder to something amiss at a glance. “You’d rather be stubborn than cooperative.” The youth snorted coldly and raised his hand, firing a golden beam of light toward Jiang Tang. “Late Qi-Martial Realm!” Jiang Tang was somewhat surprised; the youth opposite him appeared to be at the Third Grade of the Heaven Rank—countless times stronger than anyone from the Zhao family. In the cultivation world, there was a consensus: going head-to-head with someone from Nikuang Mountain was nothing short of courting death! Just as the youth retreated to the exit, preparing to leap out, a burst of white light suddenly shot into the cave entrance like a bolt of lightning. In an instant, layer upon layer of spiderwebs sealed the entrance shut. “Hand him over to me; I need him to craft something.” No sooner had the cold, indifferent voice echoed than a faint, Dongfang-sounding voice appeared in the secret chamber. At the same moment, a mass of black mist above the youth’s head coalesced into a ferocious tiger’s face with twin horns. He gave a sinister chuckle, and in an instant, a “God-Shattering Needle” shot from the tiger’s mouth and pierced the youth’s crown.