Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 418 The Land Beyond the Barriers, the Kingdom of Demons

"No, why is this kid more pleased than alarmed when he hears that demons are coming to cause trouble?"

Even though Du Renwang had already attained the Yin Spirit realm, possessed a clear mind, and had gradually emptied his six desires, he was still somewhat bewildered by Liu Sheng's appearance.

Although you have received a divine favor and your ability to subdue demons is the strongest you have ever seen, do you know just how terrifying those demons that have been sleeping in history really are?
Each of them was a terrifying entity that had a history of destroying countries and cities, igniting wars, and leaving a significant mark on dynastic changes, natural disasters, and man-made calamities.

Even in the remote and desolate borderlands, far from human kingdoms, there are millions of demon kingdoms.

It was a pure demon world, where the strong preyed on the weak, kings carved out their own territories, and people ate raw meat and drank blood. There were no rules or order, only pure killing, devouring, and conquest.

"Back then, I was young and ambitious, and at the tender age of twenty, I dominated six states. I learned about the uncivilized lands from some elders and ancient books..."

A flicker of recollection crossed Du Renwang's eyes, and a lingering fear still lingered deep within his pupils:
"So I went to the land beyond the reach of civilization, intending to use demons as stepping stones to hone myself. Accompanying me were the best of that era, each of whom was not much weaker than me."

We set off together, but soon after leaving the frontier, we encountered a one-eyed wolf…

The one-eyed wolf was emaciated, its fur was dry and dull, and even its tail was broken off.

It resembled an old wolf that had been driven out of its pack and was nearing its end, sickly and slow-moving, as if an ordinary hunter could easily hunt it down.

But as Du Renwang and his group approached, the one-eyed wolf unleashed a terrifying aura.

Its slender form swelled to the size of a mountain range, and the demonic wind it stirred up blotted out the sky and carried strange forces of imprisonment, attrition, and erosion.

In the end, this group of geniuses suffered a crushing defeat. Many perished in the wolf's belly, and the rest, upon returning, either suffered damage to their Dao hearts, fell into obscurity, or died in despair.

Or, like Du Renwang, one can subdue one's inner demons with great perseverance and wisdom, fall into a deep sleep and feign death, and wait for the great struggle of the world to begin.

"Although the land beyond the Great Wall is a threat, it is also full of rare and precious materials. Back then, when I was being chased by that one-eyed wolf demon, I unexpectedly obtained a Ghost-faced Black Lotus."

He eventually refined a wisp of Netherworld Qi, feigning death for six hundred years without perishing, and through this he comprehended the secrets of life and death, broke through the Profound Light, and laid the foundation for the Yin Spirit…

Du Renwang did not hide anything and recounted his experiences from back then.

Even the opportunity that led him to become a Yin God was actually a black lotus with a ghost face that he obtained by chance when he went to the land beyond the realm of civilization.

According to him, the old lone wolf clearly lost the fight and was driven to the edge of a desolate place.

But this monster, which lost the competition, almost wiped out their group of outstanding talents.

This suggests that in the depths of the uncivilized lands, in those demon kingdoms, the demons who truly rule and dominate are likely far more powerful than imagined.

"Inspiration is like the tide, rising and falling. When it rises, the world grows; when it falls, the world contracts, just like a person's breathing..."

Finally, he shared some information he had gleaned from ancient texts, and, drawing upon his own experiences, remarked meaningfully:

"If we can survive the period of spiritual depletion through methods such as feigning death and falling into slumber, then those demons must also have various methods to cope with the changes in the world..."

For example, what if one's intelligence fades, causing them to revert from a demon to a beast?
Liu Sheng nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

He recalled that when Du Bingyan broke through to the Dao, they had ambushed a White Lotus army in the mountains.

There was once a four-horned sheep demon who called himself Lei Tong Bai Xie, and came from the command of the Green Sheep King of Siping Mountain...

Liu Sheng had noticed this before and suspected that there was a realm of demons beyond the human world. However, he was busy with other matters and forgot about it.

Now that I've heard what Du Renwang said, and the two statements corroborate each other, it seems that what the four-horned sheep demon said wasn't necessarily all false.

This uncharted land is a dangerous place for other human cultivators. If they are not careful, they will become food for the enemy, their hearts and livers will be devoured, and they will be used as "rice".

But for Liu, who possesses the "Seventy-Two Transformations of the Dao Fruit," it is an excellent treasure land!
He currently possesses eleven great demon-level avatars, with enough "capacity" in his body to accommodate two more. His cultivation has now reached the Perfection of the Dao, and he is about to break through to the Yellow Court realm. Once he advances to the Yellow Court, all his avatars will be upgraded again, becoming old demons, equivalent to the Profound Realm among cultivators.

So, should we keep these two spots and refine the old demon-level essence directly after our cultivation advances to the Yellow Court level, or should we refine two great demon avatars first and then deduce and upgrade them to old demons?

This is a question we need to think about carefully. Although we have over a million spiritual points now and will have at least ten million more in the future, we should still cherish every little bit of money, right?

However, the avatar that has been upgraded through the "Dao Fruit" is significantly stronger than the newly refined avatar, and its awakened talent is also stronger.

In that case, spending more spiritual energy points seems worthwhile?

Liu Sheng pondered silently, somewhat undecided. After all, he had grown up in poverty, used to saving every penny, and was quite frugal.

Back when he first obtained the "Dao Fruit," he went to Shanyang County and touched every single thing in the city that could be called an "antique," but he only gained a few hundred points of spiritual essence...

Just as he was hesitating and his thoughts were wandering, he heard Du Renwang's comforting voice in his ear—

"Don't worry, those demons won't come looking for you anytime soon, so there's no need to worry for now."

Seeing Liu Sheng remain silent and his gaze wander, Du Renwang assumed he was worried about the demons' attack.

He couldn't help but chuckle to himself for having the mistaken impression that the kid was excited. It seemed that this fearless young man was still a normal person who could be "afraid".

"Not coming that early?"

However, upon hearing his words of comfort, Liu Sheng instead showed displeasure:

"why?"

"Why do you seem to be hoping those demons will come looking for trouble for you sooner?"

"Haha, how could that be? I was just... curious."

"Really? Or is it just my imagination?"

Du Renwang glanced at Liu Sheng suspiciously, but seeing that his expression was natural and he couldn't see anything amiss, he shook his head, assuming it was just his imagination, and began to explain:

"Because the heavens and earth are not high enough, not thick enough, and the spiritual energy is not dense enough, they cannot come over for the time being."

Even if they occasionally manage to arrive by chance, their strength will be greatly diminished, far inferior to what they were in the outer lands…

Like two adjacent but relatively independent streams, they only connect with each other during heavy rains and high tides, making it possible for fish and shrimp from one stream to migrate to the other.

Outside of the flood season, for fish and shrimp from one stream to successfully reach another, they have to endure countless hardships and unexpected events.

Even if they finally arrive safely, they will be covered in wounds and will have to adapt to a new environment.

"Isn't the spiritual energy dense enough? Isn't the heaven and earth high and vast enough...?"

Liu Sheng looked up at the sky, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

Let's settle the old scores before the evil spirits arrive.

such as--

Song Yingtian.

(End of this chapter)