The next day, a well-rested Li Nianfan rose with the sun, feeling incredibly spirited.
“Master, let me help you get dressed,” said Daji before gently assisting him.
At the same time, Fire Phoenix entered with a wooden bowl full of water. “Master, here’s the water for washing up.”
Their beauty and gentleness soothed him into satisfaction. He smiled from the bottom of his heart and said, “What good wives I have.”
Li Nianfan walked out of the room once he had smartened up, breathing in the sweet fragrance of the flowers, ready to start the day.
Suddenly, he heard a helpless voice calling him. He turned around and nearly jumped out of his skin with fright.
It was none other than the bald Blackie with his ears turned down, looking at Li Nianfan. He looked like a giant naked-mole rat. He looked skinnier without his luscious fur and his pinkish skin made the whole situation funnier than it should be. Naturally, Blackie would not return to Dog Mountain with his current state. Should he do so, he would lose respect and his heroic image immediately.
Li Nianfan took a deep breath to prevent the laughter that was bubbling up his throat from coming out. Then, he closed his eyes to take a moment to compose himself. His eyes were full of compassion and pity by the time they were opened. “You must’ve been through so much, Blackie! But look at the bright side, the weather’s getting warmer, you’ll feel cooler without your fur,” said Li Nianfan.
“Master, I must take my revenge!” whimpered Blackie pitifully from the bottom of his heart.
The word ‘Ministry’ had been deeply branded in his mind. He would never forget the trouble and damage they had caused him. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, so to speak.
He wished for nothing more than a quiet, ordinary life. He was happy with his life. Why did they force him to take the path of revenge?
Li Nianfan patted him on the head as he consoled him, “Forget about taking revenge. You won’t be able to defeat them at your current level. You should train harder to increase your Spiritual Cultivation so you won’t be caught by them again.”
“I don’t care! I can overlook the loss of my fur but I’ll never rest until I make them all my human slaves!” he cried, not willing to let the matter slide.
“Okay, okay. Just calm down first.” Li Nianfan understood that Blackie was probably reacting from the shock of all that had happened. He noticed Blackie had even started to use the words from the stories he told him. He had no idea what Blackie would do next. All he could do now was to enlighten him as much as possible. Suddenly, the sound of a zither playing floated from the front courtyard. The music sounded as majestic as the rolling waves, bringing with it a hint of sharpness, getting more and more high-pitched.Anyone listening to it would notice their heart beating faster and feeling more alert. The music was perfect for those mornings when one wanted to dispel sleepiness and feel energized. Li Nianfan listened for a while with his eyes closed. “It sounds like Qin Manyun’s playing. She must be in a good mood to play this early in the morning.”
The three of them-Li Nianfan, Daji, and Fire Phoenix-walked out of the back courtyard and entered the front courtyard. They saw Qin Manyun playing the zither and surrounding her were the demons they had rescued from the previous night.
At the sight of Li Nianfan and Daji, all the demons shuddered slightly before breaking out in a friendly smile and an expression of deep respect.
They had heard all about Li Nianfan, especially the story about how he had treated all the demons who came before them with alcohol that had been infused with Chaos Spiritual Root. They were green with jealousy and hated themselves for not subjugating to the expert earlier.
Oh, the pain of losing out!
Li Nianfan’s power was beyond their imagination, especially after they saw how easily he eliminated two high-level members from the Heavenly Realm. It was to their credit they did not immediately kneel in awe.
They greeted them without further hesitation. “Greetings to Lord Saint, Goddess Daji, and Goddess Fire Phoenix.”
“We’re deeply grateful to Goddess Daji for destroying one of the Ministry’s strongholds and willingly join the Demon City to serve Little Fox as our Demon King!” said Bull Demon King
“Yes, leave it to us to complete any mission given to us in the future. We’ll do anything to make sure she won’t be disappointed,” added Hippo Demon King. “We’ll be under your guidance from now on.”
The scene was quite lively with each of the demons pledging their undying loyalty.
Li Nianfan looked at Daji. He never expected she could make all the demons surrender themselves within the span of one night. It seemed like she was more awesome than he thought.
But then he suddenly remembered something that caught his attention and could not help but ask, “You went to destroy the Ministry’s stronghold?”
Both Daji and Fire Phoenix nodded and softly said, “Yes.”
Li Nianfan knitted his brow together and said, “That was a very dangerous thing to do. You should think carefully before doing anything like this to avoid any unwanted circumstances.”
He had heard much negative news about the Ministry and how the organization had many powerful members. It was a good thing Daji and Fire Phoenix returned home safely even if their intention to subjugate the demons were well.
Both Daji and Fire Phoenix bit their lips, their eyes betraying the mixed emotions they were feeling. Of course, it was dangerous for them to go into the stronghold but… Li Nianfan was the one who eliminated the biggest danger.
They wanted to help Li Nianfan with his burden but alas, he was the one who protected them from all the raging storms in their lives. Not only did he save Blackie, he also saved them while still having the compassion to worry this much about them.
Suddenly, they found their nose stinging with the threat of snot coming out. They were profoundly touched. “Please, don’t worry about us, Master. We’ll be more careful from now on.”
Li Nianfan looked at Qin Manyun and asked curiously, “By the way, Lady Manyun, what are you doing?”
“I’m trying to wake Miss Shi Tuqin up.” As she said this, she motioned with her eyes full of pity to a direction in front of her.
Li Nianfan looked toward where she was gazing and noticed the young woman sitting at the very front of the group of demons. Her eyes were out of focus and she was curled into a ball with her two arms wrapped around her legs. Tear stains blanketed her entire face and she gave off an aura of helplessness.
The most striking thing about her was the paws of white tigers in place of where human limbs should be. Also, sprouting from her back was a folded pair of angel wings. There was no running away from the fact that she looked like a demon, thus, making it difficult to notice her in a sea of demons. It did not help that she was silent throughout the whole conversation.
However, going by Qin Manyun’s introduction of a name, there was a possibility she was not a demon at all. Li Nianfan could tell with one glance this young woman was not at the best of state-saying she was like a broken puppet right now would be an understatement. She had totally closed herself off from everything. “Who is she?” asked Li Nianfan.
“She was the follower of the Legendary Beast Sect but was captured by the Ministry. She was freed by Goddess Daji last night but she hasn’t been emotionally stable since then,” answered Qin Manyun with a sigh.
“How did this happen?” asked Li Nianfan with a frown.
“The Legendary Beast Sect’s mastery is to create a connection between monks and demons. From birth, they would look for a compatible demon. It could be said the monk and demon would become intimate partners with their destinies intertwined.” Qin Manyun paused for a while before continuing, “According to what the other demons said, she was forced to consume or be consumed by the demon she was bonded to in this life. In the end, her bonded demon sacrificed himself and was completely consumed by her. Her bonded demon was a white tiger with wings, and although she was physically unharmed, she would forever be half-human and half-demon.”
The demons all around them started to vent their anger.
“Those Ministry pigs! I’ll make them pay for treating every creature as a guinea pig for their experiments!” “A human or demon would suffer a fate worse than death once captured by them.”
“My little brother died by their hands.” It was natural for them to hate the Ministry to the core. Even those from the Empath Sect held deep hatred against them and would like to avoid them at all cost.
“I’m familiar with her situation as I was there to witness it,” said a Cat Woman. She thought back to the scene from the very beginning and her pupil shrank slightly, displaying the deep terror she felt. Even till now, her fur would shoot straight up at the memory. She was behind Shi Tuqin in line, meaning she would be next after Shi Tuqin had completed her tasks. If it was not for the fact that they were all freed in time, she would have ended with the same fate.
She took a deep breath before continuing. “The Ministry would drug the humans and demons with a concoction that seemed to affect their minds. After that, they would cast a special spell on them which would cause them to go berserk and start to consume each other.
“Both Shi Tuqin and her bonded demon were indeed in a state of berserk, but at the crux of the moment, her bonded demon started to regain consciousness and gave himself up for Shi Tuqin to consume him. Till now, we still don’t know how he managed to do that.”
At the end of the story, all the onlookers glanced at Shi Tuqin with pity in their eyes while letting out a soft sigh.
There was no doubt as to the strong bond between the monks from the Legendary Beast Sect and their chosen demons. The fact that her demon was able to make a decision like that in the end just proved how strong the emotional bond was between them.
How could anyone not shed a tear at a story like this?
After waking up from the experiment, Shi Tuqin realized what she had done for her body to transform into what it was right now.
“The Legendary Beast Sect can create a connection between human and demon. That’s why those from the Ministry like to capture followers of the Legendary Beast Sect for their experiments,” said Cultivator Mosquito.
It really seemed like the Ministry had lost their moral compass by forcing two creatures who had the strongest bond to consume each other. Although Li Nianfan was familiar with the Ministry’s notoriety, he still could not help but shudder at their cruelty.
“What’s their end game?” asked Li Nianfan.
“Master, I’ve come across some intel after destroying the stronghold yesterday,” answered Daji.
“Do tell.”
“The Ministry wants to create something that will be able to consume anything and everything in the world and use it for themselves.” Here, she paused before continuing, “And by consuming, I don’t just mean swallowing. It’s more akin to the concept of taking the other party’s magical powers, wisdom, and Innate Supernatural Power and fusing it with one’s own.” Everyone blanched at what she had just said. This spell would be the end of them all.
At the thought of consumption, Li Nianfan’s first thought was Nanan. But Nanan only consumed the aura of other creatures and turned it into energy of her own. Although technically both of them were consumption of a kind, Nanan’s method ensured the other creatures’ ID was kept intact. As for what the Ministry was trying to achieve, it was technically as Daji said-more like a fusion. Who knew what abomination they would create in the end?
“You’ve mentioned they’re still at the experimentation phase. Does this mean they’re still trying to refine the spell?” asked Li Nianfan.
“Yes, that’s correct,” said Daji while nodding. Then, her voice became more serious. “Every creature’s different, with different Innate Supernatural Powers. No one’s perfect, and every creature has its own flaw. With the Three Thousand Wisdom, each has their own enlightenment.”
The Ministry’s original intention for wanting to create the spell was to consume all the Chaos creatures to fix their flaws, gain enough Innate Supernatural Power, and fuse all the different pearls of wisdom together. That way, they would be able to reach the peak of the peak, surpassing all limitations, and control the Chaos!
The plan was highly ambitious to the point of madness.
Daji kept sneaking looks at Li Nianfan while telling him all these. Her eyes were full of worry. The Ministry’s overarching ambition was just another proof of how powerful their leader was.
What she had just told Li Nianfan was just the tip of the iceberg. She also found out that the leader of the Ministry was above the Heavenly Realm and stood at the pinnacle of the Wisdom Realm! He was prepared to use whatever method at his disposal to be the dictator of the Wisdom Realm.
The Ministry leader as the dictator of the Wisdom Realm! The thought alone made her quake in fear. Those from the Heavenly Realm were not able to bear even one shred of the power from the Wisdom Realm. Did being a dictator of the Wisdom Realm mean they would be able to control all the wisdom in the universe?
It would be the end of the world as they know it. She guessed that was what invincibility would be like.
Flying Whale was in full-on anxious mode. “If what you said were to really happen, it’ll mean the complete decimation of every creature in the Chaos!”
Once the experiment was successful, the spell would not be confined to the lab, but each and every creature in the Chaos. All of them would end up as their target.
Even an ignorant person would understand why this kind of spell should not be allowed to exist.
“Kill me!” said the dispirited Shi Tuqin suddenly. She did not raise her head and her eyes brimmed with tears. “Kill me!” she said again in a self-destructing manner.
“Death won’t solve the problem, Miss Shi,” said Qin Manyun.
“Have you all forgotten? I’m half human and half demon now. I won’t be able to control myself from consuming everything in my path for much longer after being subjected to the Ministry’s spell. Kill me now!”
