Volume 4, The Divine Artifacts, Chapter 214: The Origin of the Demon Realm
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The cultivation world is a vast and boundless place, where countless beings live in interstellar environments with diverse landscapes. However, the Demon Realm, the greatest enemy of the cultivation world, does not exist in this universe.
The Demon Realm, originally the Realm of Fire, is not the same plane as the Cultivation Realm.
Ten thousand years ago, an unusual collision occurred between two planes, creating a passage connecting the two planes on the Deadly Demon-Suppressing Star. When this passage first appeared, both sides maintained an extremely cautious attitude.
However, as cultivators from the Flame Realm passed through this passage and arrived in the Cultivation Realm, the two sides began formal contact.
For the first few thousand years, there were no disputes between the two sides; in fact, they exchanged goods and resources, and their relationship was relatively good.
However, the era of peace was short-lived. For reasons unknown, three thousand years ago, the Flame Realm suddenly and unusually gathered all its experts and launched a locust-like invasion of the cultivation world. Countless cultivators from the Flame Realm emerged from the passages and quickly occupied countless surrounding planets.
Their actions were methodical and clearly premeditated. Teleportation arrays were set up one after another, and large numbers of reinforcements from the Flame Realm flowed into the cultivation world through the passages.
At that time, the Jade Cauldron Sect was at its most prosperous in tens of thousands of years. So, while doing its best to resist the offensive of the Flame Realm, it also invited fellow cultivators from all over the world to discuss important matters.
Human cultivators have always been the most fiercely competitive race, but faced with the powerful offensive of the Flame Realm, the cultivators in that region had no choice but to unite.
However, how could a hastily organized temporary organization compare to the meticulous planning of the Flame Realm over thousands of years? In just two years, tens of thousands of surrounding planets fell, and countless cultivators perished without a trace. That vast area of the starry sky became known as the Death Zone.
Despite the Jade Cauldron Sect's best efforts, they only managed to preserve the Heavenly Cauldron Star lineage by relying on numerous super magic treasures.
During those two years, the Jade Cauldron Sect opened its Myriad Treasures Hall seven times, and hundreds or even thousands of cultivators entered. During that time, they took one percent of the toys that the Treasure God had casually created over the years.
It was precisely because of these toys created by the gods that the Jade Cauldron Sect was able to survive. After all, what the Treasure God crafted, though toys to him, were deadly super magic weapons to cultivators.
However, with the demon army constantly increasing in size, the Jade Cauldron Sect alone was no match for them. If this situation continued to develop, the Jade Cauldron Sect would only be able to prolong its existence and buy itself a little more time.
By this time, all humans and demons had realized that if Fan continued to be allowed to fight and be defeated one by one by the people of the Flame Realm, the entire cultivation world would likely fall into their hands.
Thus, through the coordination of several highly respected elders, the human and demon races quickly reached an agreement and began full-scale preparations for war. They engaged in the fiercest battle against the experts of the Flame Realm in that death zone.
It was precisely because of the strength displayed by the Jade Cauldron Sect in this great battle, and the enormous destructive and protective effects of the magical treasures they crafted, that they established their status as a sacred place of artifact crafting in the cultivation world.
Several years later, the manpower and resources invested by both sides continued to escalate, reaching near their limits.
No one in the Demon Realm knew the specifics, but in the cultivation world, cultivators from many peripheral planets spontaneously rushed to join the battle. The ferocity of the battle was unprecedented.
However, at the most critical moment of the war, nine extremely powerful demons suddenly appeared in the Flame Realm. Their power was beyond comprehension. When many cultivators encountered them, it was as if they had encountered death itself, and they had no power to fight back at all.
Just as the human and demon races were suffering repeated defeats, the dragon and phoenix races made their move. These two powerful races, which only appeared in legends, displayed unimaginable fighting power and barely managed to hold off the nine super demons.
Then, a real turning point appeared when three top experts from the human race suddenly issued a joint statement, challenging the nine great demons.
Thus, on Zhenmo Star, the former Heavenly Thunder Palace Masters, Baihe Zhenren and Bailu Zhenren, joined forces to set up the Zhuxian Formation. After seven days and nights of fierce fighting, they finally killed all nine demons.
After this battle, the morale of the cultivation world's allied forces soared, while the fire world's army appeared leaderless and ultimately collapsed completely.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the cultivation world launched a major counterattack. Within a year, they not only recovered all lost territory, but some cultivators even advocated attacking through the passage.
This proposal was met with almost universal approval at the time.
However, at this very moment, the three great sages, led by Master Baihe, jointly issued a notice forbidding any cultivators from going to the Flame Realm.
Although many people harbored strong resentment towards this, the three great sages were at the height of their power at the time, and no one dared to disobey their decisions.
Another year passed, and after completely eliminating all the Flame Realm people who were stuck in the cultivation world, tens of thousands of cultivators at the Departure Valley stage and above, led by the three great saints, joined forces to set up the Demon Sealing Seal, completely blocking the passage between the two realms.
The battle three thousand years ago was one of the most brutal battles in the cultivation world, and all cultivators remember it vividly and dare not forget it.
After this battle, the Flame Realm was naturally given the glorious title of the Demon Realm.
After the great battle, to prevent the demonic offspring from making a sudden comeback, the three sages joined forces and installed a mysterious jade mirror on the seal. Through this mirror, they could see all the movements of the Flame Realm at the entrance to the passage. This was the greatest tool cultivators used to monitor the Flame Realm… the Demon-Spying Mirror.
In addition, the human race decided that several elders from various sects, led by those who had reached the Tribulation Transcending stage, would reside permanently on the Demon Suppression Star to be ready to respond to any contingencies.
However, their worries were obviously unnecessary for a long time, because for three thousand years, through the observation of the Demon-Seeking Mirror, the Demon Realm had always been obedient and there was no longer any sign of invading the cultivation world.
As time passed, just when everyone had begun to gradually forget the great war three thousand years ago, the demon realm began to stir again.
Of course, this time, they were no longer facing a disorganized and unprepared cultivation world.
News of the demon army's invasion spread rapidly through various channels in the cultivation world, and all cultivation sects with sufficient strength were alarmed.
Countless experts, whether organized or scattered, are continuously heading to Zhenmo Star. They have only one goal: to prevent the catastrophe of three thousand years ago from repeating itself.
Therefore, when Xiao Wenbing and his group arrived at Zhenmo Star, all they could see were figures everywhere. Moreover, almost every one of them was a master among masters.
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"A spirit or monster?"
A startled cry drew the attention of everyone around.
Xiao Wenbing looked up and saw a large wolf head in front of him. He was very surprised. Could it be that he had encountered the Moonlit Wolf King as soon as he came out? However, after a moment, he immediately realized that although this guy also had a large wolf head, he was obviously not the arrogant Moonlit Wolf King.
A strange murmur arose around them, clearly indicating their great surprise at the appearance of the spirit race.
Everyone knows that these cultivators, formed from plant-based infants, are always ascetic practitioners who avoid trouble. Even when the demon realm invades, they don't take it seriously, and few spirits actively come to their aid. This is because there are no spirit planets in the death zone.
Humans, demons, and spirits can all accumulate strength by absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, thus attaining immortality.
However, their cultivation time differs greatly. Humans have the shortest cultivation time, followed by demons, while the cultivation time required for spirits to attain enlightenment is many times longer than that of humans and demons.
In the same thousand years, outstanding experts among humans can already experience the taste of heavenly tribulation, while ordinary demons are still striving to form a nascent soul. As for the spirit race, in a thousand years, they may not even be able to form an inner core.
Therefore, when demons and spirits transform into human form, the vast majority of the forms they choose to change into are human. This is not because they dislike their ugly appearance, but because the human form is the easiest to cultivate.
Basically, apart from those particularly narcissistic individuals, all the experts of these two races inevitably transform into human form after reaching the Nascent Soul stage.
Three thousand years ago, during the great war between the two realms, the spirit race in the Death Zone was almost wiped out, and their territory was naturally occupied by the human and demon races. Therefore, it is only natural that they seemed the least concerned when fighting against the demon invasion.
Before Xiao Wenbing and the others arrived, no one expected that the demon race would join the war so quickly. In their minds, unless the human-demon alliance suffered a crushing defeat and the flames of war reached their homeland, it was simply impossible to expect the demon race to send out experts to help them.
So, when Xiao Wenbing stared wide-eyed at the big wolf's head, the old wolf also bulged out its own eyes.
"Let's see what happens." The Food King bared his teeth and bared his teeth. This old fellow had been cooped up in the Divine Wood Palace for a full thousand years, and he was finally able to come out and breathe some fresh air. He was originally in an extremely happy mood. However, after being stared at by those big eyes for a long time, his temper immediately flared up.
The old wolf was taken aback, and a fierce look appeared on its ugly wolf face. It said, "So what if you're a monster? How about you play with me for a while?"
"Great!" the Food King exclaimed excitedly. "Let's go!"
"Wait a minute." Xiao Wenbing sensed something was wrong. Why were his own people fighting each other before they even engaged the demons?
Volume 4, Chapter 215: The Demon-Suppressing Star
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The Food King dared not disobey Xiao Wenbing's words. Although this old man-eating flower was very old, it was not senile. It knew that if it offended Xiao Wenbing, it would have to obediently return home with just one word from him. And this was a consequence it absolutely did not want to see.
Therefore, the Food King shook his head and muttered a few words, then reluctantly withdrew.
However, the fact that the Food King backed down did not mean the matter was over.
The old wolf was somewhat wary of the Devouring King, who was at the Tribulation Transcending stage, but his attitude towards Xiao Wenbing was completely different. As one of the elite members of the wolf clan, he wouldn't take a human at the Golden Core stage seriously.
Then, he grinned maliciously and said, "What are you, daring to order me around like an old wolf?" The wolf's wild nature was unleashed, and he immediately became ferocious. He no longer cared who the other party was, and with a wave of his hands, he was about to kill him.
Suddenly, a flash of purple light appeared before his eyes, and a long sword crackling with lightning pierced straight at his chest without warning.
The speed of the sword light was unbelievable, and with the help of a sharp assassin, it surged over in an overwhelming manner.
The old wolf's eyes changed, and it instinctively let out a strange howl, shrinking back dozens of feet. Xiao Wenbing smiled slightly; he had seen this kind of situation many times before, and it was no longer surprising.
This old wolf was really unlucky. Of all people, it had to come and provoke him. Although he might not be the wolf's enemy, he had two unparalleled bodyguards behind him.
"Heavenly Thunder Palace?" The old wolf looked at Feng Baiyi with surprise and uncertainty. The arrogance in its eyes disappeared, replaced by undisguised fear.
"How should I address you, senior?" Xiao Wenbing asked casually. With Feng Baiyi backing him up, these monsters wouldn't dare to oppose him even if they had the guts.
Moreover, he had six powerful spirits at the Tribulation Transcending stage by his side, and they wouldn't let him be in danger. Therefore, Xiao Wenbing felt very at ease, and his words were full of confidence.
At this point, even the most foolish person could tell that these people were not to be trifled with. Therefore, the old wolf hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yueya."
"Yue Ya?" Xiao Wenbing was taken aback. Looking at the wary wolf head, he chuckled inwardly. This guy didn't seem to have anything to do with the word "Ya" at all.
Of course, Xiao Wenbing's inner grumbling did not attract Yueya's attention. He looked at the group of people, nodded as if he understood, and suddenly asked, "Could you be Fellow Daoist Xiao Wenbing?"
"Indeed, it is Xiao Wenbing." Xiao Wenbing said smugly, surprised that he was so well-known.
Yueya quickly put away her fierce expression and said, "So it really is Fellow Daoist Xiao. I heard that you went to the three holy lands. How did it go?"
He spoke, but his eyes remained fixed on the lightning-summoning sword in Feng Baiyi's hand, not daring to relax his vigilance in the slightest.
It seems that although this old wolf spoke politely, he was still deeply wary of the Thunder-Attracting Sword of the Thunder Palace.
Xiao Wenbing smiled, stepped forward, and gestured for Feng Baiyi to sheathe her divine sword. With a formidable enemy at hand, this internal strife should be avoided if possible.
Sure enough, when Yueya saw Feng Baiyi put away the lightning-summoning sword, her expression immediately improved. She nodded gratefully to Xiao Wenbing, meaning she thanked him.
However, his action was unnecessary. Xiao Wenbing didn't understand the meaning behind his gesture and thought he was asking about the result.
"I have not failed in my mission." Xiao Wenbing bowed slightly to him and asked, "May I ask where Sect Master Huizhe and the others are, senior?"
He only asked Hui Zhe because he knew that his master was definitely with them. Once he found Hui Zhe, it would be the same as finding Xianyun Laodao and the others.
Yueya glanced at the Food King and several spirits behind Xiao Wenbing, completely believing his words. If they didn't have the consent of the three supreme beings, where did these spirits come from? They couldn't have volunteered for the battle, could they? That was absolutely impossible.
“Fellow Daoist Xiao, if you go west for a thousand miles, you will see the main camp of the human race. Sect Master Huizhe is resting there,” Yueya said, gesturing.
"Thank you, senior." Xiao Wenbing said, then pondered for a moment and asked, "May I ask how you and the Moonlit Wolf King address each other?"
“That is our Sirius clan leader,” Yueya said respectfully.
Xiao Wenbing smiled at him and said, "If you see him, please give him your regards."
Yueya shook her head and said, "The clan leader is also discussing important matters at your human race's main camp. Since you're going, you'll naturally be able to see him."
"Oh, okay." Xiao Wenbing was taken aback. It seemed that the relationship between humans and demons had really changed dramatically, otherwise why would the old wolf have gone to the human's stronghold?
Having received the news, Xiao Wenbing bid farewell to Yueya and led the group away from the teleportation array, flying westward.
"Alas...what a pity," the Food King sighed regretfully as he flew.
"What's a pity?" Xiao Wenbing asked, turning around.