Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Zhu Yi grinned at Shi Tianhao and said, “Let’s return to the mountain since everything here is done.”
Shi Tianhao withdrew the Two Elements of Creation Formation along with the Crucible of the Divine Lands. His hundred-feet-tall Yingyuan Body and his Huangshen Body merged seamlessly and he reverted to his original form before he leapt onto the Higan Bridge. Shi Tianhao laughed and acknowledged, “Alright, let’s go.”
The Higan Golden Bridge transformed into an elongated rainbow at Zhu Yi’s command and flashed through the dark void space before it vanished in an instant.
They returned to the Divine Lands, and back onto Mount Yujing inside the Kunlun Mountains. Zhu Yi gazed towards the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree that seemed to eclipse the heavens before he turned back towards Shi Tianhao and said, “Third junior brother is still cultivating on the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree. You should him, so that you can learn our Master’s Celestial Sect Teleportation Technique as soon as possible. Even if you don’t have a Destiny-level magic treasure with you next time, you will have more in your arsenal against even Vipralopa Stage cultivators.”
Shi Tianhao nodded his head immediately. “I was thinking the same. If not, I would have remained inside the Void Battleground to continue searching for grandfather.”
They were still talking to each other when their expressions changed subtly and both of them turned towards the side. There was a tall and burly man clad in black and scale armor, and a tall and elegant lady stood beside him – it was Jieyu and Bai Guang.
They came up to Zhu Yi and Shi Tianhao and bowed respectfully. “Nice to meet you, Yi Zi. Nice to meet you as well, Huangtian Emperor.”
Shi Tianhao chuckled and said, “You guys have finally come out of your cave? Seems like the two of you have gained much – both of you are only a step away from reaching the undying demonic soul stage.”
Neither Jieyu nor Bai Guang had taken the final step yet to reach the undying demonic soul stage. However, they were at the peak of the demonic lord stage, and were only a hair’s breadth away from the big gate.
Jieyu didn’t smile, however, and his expression looked like he was sighing on the inside. “Thanks to the sect leader’s care and concern, and much gratitude to the precious resources that he has given us as well as the guidance and pointers. It was only because of all those that I can reach this stage within such a short period of time. Forming the demon soul and consolidating my mastery inside the Supreme Dragon Roost is enough for me.”
Bai Guang stood beside him and stared at her husband with a faint smile on her face, but said nothing.
In reality, her improvement inside the Celestial Sect of Wonders had been unimaginably quick. Even though her status inside the Supreme Dragon Roost was much higher compared to Jieyu, and she was more talented, reaching the demonic lord advanced stage from the demonic lord beginner stage in such a short period of time was a lot faster than she had expected.
Zhu Yi said, “There’s nothing to be said about the challenge of reaching the immortal soul. Don’t be hasty, and remain calm when you cultivate – when the time comes, you will have success.”
Jieyu and Bai Guang nodded at the same time and replied, “Naturally.”
Radiance rolled around inside Zhu Yi’s pupils, and a single beam of light shot out and started waltzing in midair. It formed a long golden dragon projection, and even it was incomplete, it was still as intimidating as ever.
Jieyu and Bai Guang exchanged a look as they watched the glimmering Celestial Dragon projection unfurl in the sky. Their eyes seemed to sparkle a little more than usual as blaring dragon roars rang out in their ears.
Jieyu and Bai Guang felt their bodies quiver as they stared lackadaisically at the dragon shadow in front of them. They felt dizzy, as if their heads began to spin and uncountable images surfaced again and again inside their minds.
Zhu Yi tapped lightly with his finger and the Celestial Dragon’s projection split into two and transformed into separate beams of light that shot into the middle of Jieyu and Bai Guang’s eyebrows respectively.
Jieyu and Bai Guang howled into the sky. They could no longer maintain their human forms and immediately revealed their true forms as they transformed into a black dragon and a white dragon respectively.
A Bastille Black Dragon and a White Jade Dragon danced in the sky above Mount Yujing and thundered from time to time.
Golden radiance shimmered regularly in their eyes, and delicate shadows of a golden dragon could be seen whirling around their bodies.
Jieyu and Bai Guang reoriented themselves after a long while and they reverted to their human forms and came before Zhu Yi and Shi Tianhao. Once they landed on the ground, they greet Zhu Yi respectfully and said, “Thank you, Yi Zi!”
Zhu Yi answered, “This is what I have gained after studying the Immemorial Celestial Dragon’s blood and their natural talents. Even though you guys are still quite a distance away from the Celestial Dragon True Form, it’s always beneficial if you can seriously study and understand these things beforehand. This is especially so since both of you are at the brink of breaking into the undying demonic soul stage, and you guys will probably need guidance and pointers from a higher level.”
Jieyu nodded his head repeatedly. “Just as you said, the two of us will cultivate seriously.”
The meaning of reaching the immortal soul stage for humans and the meaning of reaching the undying demonic soul for demons were completely different. There was nothing to be said about the difficulty in attaining them.
Back when Jieyu first formed the demon soul, the Nine-Talons Condor King and the Northern Sea Whale King were already in the demonic lord advanced stage.
Over the years, even though the Northern Sea Whale King managed to break through this barrier and successfully attained the undying demonic soul, and eventually obtained the Black Whale Grand Sage, the Nine-Talons Condor king was still in the demonic lord advanced stage and he hadn’t been able to make that last step.
The truth was that the Black Whale Grand Sage would probably take a much longer time to make the last step had he not joined under the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
Jieyu and Bai Guang were born from the Supreme Dragon Roost, but knowledge regarding the Immemorial Celestial Dragon passed down in the Supreme Dragon Roost was limited. With Zhu Yi’s pointers, even though Zhu Yi’s understanding and study of the Immemorial Celestial Dragon’s concepts of power was incomplete, their cultivation would be a lot faster than otherwise.
This was the reason why Jieyu and Bai Guang would naturally be full of gratitude for Zhu Yi and the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
Shi Tianhao watched on with a cheeky smile on his face. He surveyed the Wasteland Valley from the corner of his eye before he turned back towards Jieyu and said, “Why is that jackass throwing another tantrum?”
The person he was speaking about was, of course, Tun Tun the tiny Taotie.
Jieyu puffed his chest as if he was showing off, except the smile on his face seemed a little impish and mischievous. “She knows that I am reaching the undying demonic soul stage soon, so… Heh…”
The corner of Shi Tianhao’s mouth curled upwards. His expression looked like he was gloating and he chortling along with Jieyu.
Zhu Yi and Bai Guang shook their heads at the same time with a helpless smile on their faces.
Tun Tun had broken through the demonic lord intermediate stage, but because of congenital reasons, her speed of cultivation was incredibly slow.
Her cultivation speed was actually a lot faster than expected. Her improvement was comparatively faster than Jieyu when referenced against their estimated speed. Under normal circumstances, she could have been stuck at the demonic lord beginning stage for a few hundred years and perhaps even a few thousand years, and even that wouldn’t have been a surprise.
Tun Tun was still satisfied on normal days, so she wasn’t that heartless and she didn’t try to take everything she could.
However, everything needed a comparison. She could only watch as Jieyu, who used to be much weaker than she was and who she had been beating up all this while, rise through the ranks. It was natural that the little Taotie was a little flustered and unconvinced.
Jieyu’s level of mastery was now higher than hers, and even his abilities were stronger than hers as well. If they were to fight for real, Jieyu would splatter her brains across the ground.
Every dog had its day, and now that Jieyu had caught up with her, it was natural that he’d be revisiting the times when she bullied him back in the day. If Bai Guang hadn’t been protecting her, Jieyu would probably have pushed her around from time to time so that he could pay everything back in time.
Shi Tianhao casted his gaze across the skies and pierced through the void. He could see into the Wasteland Valley, and Tun Tun was currently sitting on a large rock inside in despondence and melancholy. She was holding a small branch in her hands as she nibbled on a spiritual fruit on top. “Hmph. My cultivation speed will return to normal once I reach the undying demonic soul stage. I will find my own justice with this old dragon once that happens.”
Improving beyond the undying demonic soul stage was a lot more challenging than before. The time needed would naturally take longer than normal, so Tun Tun was confident that she could catch up with Jieyu’s speed.
“Dragons need to reach the Vipralopa Stage to obtain the Celestial Dragon True Form. That will take years and decades – once I’m in the undying demonic soul stage, I won’t be afraid of you anymore. I will beat you until you call out for mercy!”
Tun Tun continued muttering to herself as she took a vicious bite at the spiritual fruit and chewed furiously, as if she was venting her anger.
She was in her human form and seemed like she was only a little more than ten years old. She was cute and charming and her features were like a painting, but her behavior and actions were just so unglamorous.
“Aunt, aunt…” A sound could be heard from her bosom. It was a small baby girl that was still in her infancy, and she was a lot younger than Tun Tun was. Even though she was in her human form, one could faintly see the resemblance with a Xuanming Beast. She was nibbling on her fingers as she stared curiously at the spiritual fruit and the branch in Tun Tun’s hands while he called out like a baby would.
Tun Tun grunted and said, “How many times have I said this? It’s grandmother, not aunt!”
This tiny Xuanming Beast in human form was the Dark Aqua Xuanming’s daughter, Liuling. She blinked her large eyes as she stared at Tun Tun with a confused and helpless look on her face. She had no idea why Tun Tun was another generation higher than she was supposed to be.
Tun Tun said angrily, “Grandmother isn’t feeling so well now. I can’t be bothered to take care of you right now.”
Despite saying those words, she still plucked another spiritual fruit from the tree branch and carefully removed the skin and the core before she fed it into Liuling’s mouth.
The miniature Xuanming Beast swallowed the flesh and instantly flashed a warm smile. She clapped her tiny hands together and couldn’t stop giggling.
Tun Tun pouted and said, “You’re only a tiny baby and you’re so picky. I’m not even that particular about the things I eat.”
Tun Tun continued to complain as she skinned another spiritual fruit and fed it into Liuling’s mouth. She reached out with her hands into midair, and another tree branch broke off from a fruit tree in the distance and immediately flew into her hands before she plucked yet another spiritual fruit.
The Xuanming race and the Taotie tribe didn’t participate in the War of the Two Worlds as there they had their own reservations. The Taotie Grand Sage and the Xuanming Grand Sage chose to stay out of it, and they took their respective races into hiding.
Even though it wasn’t that easy to keep themselves hidden as other powerful demons would attempt to take them under their wings, the War of the Two Worlds occurred too abruptly so the Taotie and the Xuanming managed to evade this calamity.
Tun Tun frequently roamed the Barren Expanses over the recent years. Even though she was still on bad terms with the Dark Aqua Xuanming, she enjoyed her relationship with Liuling Xuanming.
She actually brought Liuling Xuanming back to Mount Yujing to play. The Celestial Sect of Wonders said nothing against this, and even the Xuanming race allowed this to happen.
Liuling stared at the spiritual fruit before her with those cute eyes of hers as she clapped and said, “Eat one, aunt, eat one, aunt!”
Tun Tun replied exasperatedly, “Alright, alright. I will make sure you’re full before I enjoy some myself.” With that, she peeled another spiritual fruit and sent it into Liuling’s mouth. However, a powerful suction force from beside her suddenly sucked away the spiritual fruit.
Tun Tun erupted in an instant and turned around as her blood began to boil. A pair of gigantic eyes met her gaze, and both eyes had large dark circles around them with a natural look of naivety and innocence.
