Rumble!
It was just one sword strike, yet the stone wall shattered into thousands of pieces.
A passage radiating scorching heat appeared before the three of them.
"This passage leads to the bottom of the tower."
"It's so hot." The Skeletal Demon's former form was made of ice crystals, and even with Jing Tian's power protecting it, it still instinctively complained about the heat.
"It wasn't this hot here before."
The smoke cloud released by Jing Tian suddenly accelerated its speed, instantly bringing the three of them to the end of the passage.
A thousand-foot-tall, entirely red beast, resembling a four-legged Beast with a face flattened like a lion, lies asleep in the lava.
Hmm. Just like Kruskánk.
Hermione would definitely love it.
"Is it because of it? The Fire Demon Beast?" The Heavenly Demon Emperor recognized the ferocious beast. "Its heat destroyed the original passage, causing it to merge with the entire tower?"
"I told you, you were betrayed by your own kind." As Jing Tian spoke, he peered into the Fire Demon Beast's [divine form]. He had grasped a significant portion of the evolution of Pangu's Spiritual Power, a gain far exceeding the Shu Mountain Sect sword techniques contained within Li Xiaoyao's body.
After all, the Fire Demon Beast is one of the five ancient spirits formed from the spiritual power of Pangu. It is immortal and indestructible. What is now revealed to him is a state in which most of its spiritual power has been stripped away. However, it still requires power that surpasses that of mortals, immortals, and demons to seal it.
However, due to its immense strength, its mind is almost impossible to develop, and it can only function as Beast, making it easily manipulated.
"The same kind?" the Heavenly Demon Emperor asked in confusion.
"The Lord of the Monster Realm — Liao Ri —plans to manipulate the Fire Demon Beast to influence the Fire Vein in order to retaliate against Mount Shu," Jing Tian said. "Therefore, he sent the Fire Demon Beast here to accumulate fire spiritual power, thereby affecting the passage from Li Shu Mountain to the Demon Locking Tower."
"But now it's a bargain for me."
Jing Tian formed a hand seal, and a complex golden talisman landed on the giant beast's brow. Its body suddenly shrank to the size of a cat, and the flames around it subsided, turning into a ginger-yellow color.
Now, apart from the ladder and the mane, it's practically identical to Krusank.
This method of controlling beasts is not something Jing Tian can directly create from nothing using his Spiritual Wisdom.
It comes from Li Xiaoyao's memories.
Although the Shu Mountain Sect's cultivation method is extreme, it only focuses on cultivation techniques and swordsmanship. They seek to accumulate virtue through cultivation rather than refine techniques to ascend to immortality, and actively engage in the world to slay demons.
However, its predecessor, the Shushan Alliance, was composed of multiple sects, so it did not exclude the cultivation methods of other sects and actively collected and preserved various cultivation methods.
Among them are methods that can directly lead to immortality.
However, not every leader of a sect is wise.
The twelfth generation leader of the Shushan Sect not only hated demons like poison and collaborated with the ten elders at the time to create Demon Subjugation Scroll, but also had a rigid mindset, labeling some methods that had been proven to lead to immortality as External Path and listing them as Forbidden Technique.
This led to the current sect leader Qing Wei's senior brother Qing Leng; he was clearly about to become an immortal by relying on so-called External Path, but dared not tell anyone.
Furthermore, her junior brother Shu Ming seized upon this weakness, draining her Mana just as she was about to become an immortal, thus benefiting Shu Ming.
He was also punished by being confined to the wall for ten years to reflect on his mistakes.
Ten years have passed, and after Qing Leng and established his own sect, it was not easy for him to cause trouble for Shu Ming.
It wasn't until Nangong Huang took the initiative to approach him that he explained everything to Xu Changqing, the then-head of the sect, through Nangong Huang, so that Shu Ming would receive the punishment he deserved and become the Demon Locking Tower's Prison Suppressing Mingwang, unable to pursue the power he desired.
Li Xiaoyao, who became the leader of the Shu Mountain Sect and whose Daoist name was Yi Pin, was naturally not a rigid person. After reaching the upper limit of his main sword technique, he began to explore other areas.
This Beast Taming Art involves controlling demonic creatures and cultivating with them.
He would combine his [Shennong's Spiritual Power], which is the degraded [Pangu's Vitality], with his own degraded [Pangu's Divinity] to prove the path to immortality.
However, because it would simultaneously cultivate a powerful demon on par with an immortal, it was regarded as Forbidden Technique among Forbidden Technique by the people of Shu Mountain.
This all benefited Jing Tian.
Currently, his spiritual energy is filled with fire, and with the talent he inherited from Fei Peng, he uses wind to fuel the fire, making him even more powerful than the Fire Demon Beast.
Following the reenactment of the Pangu Three Elements and the power of love from the Human-Faced Pendant, Jing Tian has found another path to Tongtian —the re-creation of the Five Primordial Spirits.
Right now, wind and fire are both present (the wind comes from Fei Peng), only thunder, water, and earth are missing.
"You, you, you—" The Heavenly Demon Emperor saw Jing Tian's Eyes of Departing Fire and instantly realized that Jing Tian had somehow usurped the spiritual power of the Fire Demon Beast. He was shocked.
"Don't worry, this is not a one-sided usurpation." Jing Tian raised the Fire Demon Beast, displaying its now clear eyes to the Heavenly Demon Emperor.
"You endowed it with Spiritual Wisdom?" The Heavenly Demon Emperor was shocked.
"What's the big deal?" the Skeletal Demon asked.
"You don't understand." The Heavenly Demon Emperor shook his head.
The Spirit Awakening is nothing to be surprised about, but it is something that the strong give to the weak.
He understood very well what it meant that the Fire Demon Beast, this ancient demon beast that manifested as fire, possessed Spiritual Wisdom.
The transvestite possesses wisdom comparable to that of gods and demons, yet lacks their power.
The Five Primordial Spirits possessed power surpassing that of ordinary gods and demons, yet lacked their wisdom.
"It's actually quite simple," Jing Tian said. "This is the power of gathering, using the strength of others to make up for one's own deficiencies, and so on. Humans, demons, and gods can complement each other's weaknesses by cultivating together. This is precisely why the Heavenly Emperor Fuxi divided the world into Six Realms and stopped humans, demons, and gods from living together."
"Alchemy and consuming elixirs, as well as fasting and abstaining from grains, are merely ways to replenish the deficiencies of the body and soul."
"Even when demons devour humans and use their essence and blood to cultivate, it's the same principle."
"I feel this topic is getting more and more dangerous. I'm going to sleep now. Wake me up when we get there." The blue Soul Fire in the Skeletal Demon's eye sockets went out.
"Even a god high above would fear us?" the Heavenly Demon Emperor wondered.
"Humans, demons, and gods are all creations of the Three Sovereigns, and are originally equal," Jing Tian said. "Their current status is different because two of the Three Sovereigns have been lost."
"It's Fuxi?!" The Heavenly Demon Emperor realized.
"Of course." Jing Tian nodded.
Shennong was about to fight Fuxi because of the injustice of the beast tribe when he suddenly died in the human world, leaving behind contradictory and ridiculous rumors that he died from poisoning after tasting hundreds of herbs and from mating with beasts to reproduce.
Born from the Pangu's Vitality, possessing inexhaustible power, how could he possibly die from it?
The first-ranked intelligent beast that can be considered a demon is Chi You. He possesses the instincts of a beast, the wisdom of a human, and the power of a god. He is clearly a descendant of Shennong and the beasts he created, which reveals his attitude towards the gods.
Nuwa's death was an open secret.
After Shennong's death, Fuxi, under the pretext of dealing with the demon realm, created a strictly hierarchical divine realm, proclaimed himself the Heavenly Emperor, stipulated that the status of gods was above all else, that the Dadi was ruled by the divine race, and that humans had to serve the gods.
After humanity rebelled against oppression, he ordered Nuwa to destroy humanity and create New Human.
Nuwa disobeyed and stripped him of his divine status, then sent a divine general to destroy the Dadi. Nuwa led humanity to successfully rebel against the divine realm, but she herself died from exhaustion.
Humanity, the victor, has forgotten history.
Although Mount Shu clearly inherited the [Fuxi Sword], [Shennong Cauldron], and [Nuwa Blood Jade], the Three Sovereigns Hall it built does not contain the name of Nuwa; instead, it features the divine general Xuanyuan.
Only the Miao region, considered a wild and untamed land, still maintains its faith in Nuwa, protecting the descendants of Nuwa born from her essence.
"The system created by Fuxi absorbed all living beings except demons."
"Even demons are like this. Gods, immortals, humans, and demons all become ghosts after they die. He uses the projection of one of the Nine Springs, the Cold Marrow, as the Book of Life and Death, and thus controls the reincarnation of all races."
Jing Tian sighed.
"Why are you telling me all this? To rebel against Fuxi?" the Heavenly Demon Emperor asked.
He dared not underestimate the person before him. The exploding magma and the scorching fire veins were as gentle as water in front of him. In the short time it took to speak, this human reshaped the passage to [Li Shu Mountain].
The Heavenly Demon Emperor could no longer feel any heat, only dampness and a faint demonic Demonic Aura.
"As time has passed, the Shennong's Spiritual Power remaining in the beast's body has evolved to a point that even Shennong himself could not fathom if considered as a whole." Jing Tian looked at the Heavenly Demon Emperor, "I need you to collect the Shennong's Spiritual Power of the demons within the Li Shu Mountain for me."
"How to collect it?" The Heavenly Demon Emperor was not prepared to refuse; he would not refuse simply to repay a debt of gratitude.
"The mark on the back of your hand," Jing Tian said. "All you have to do is meet with every demon in [Li Shu Mountain] as much as possible. It will steal spiritual power that is insignificant to them. By the way, a word of advice to Liao Ri: ordinary humans are very fragile. He could die with just a push."
"If he asks, you only need to gather your spiritual power on the mark, and he will know everything."
"When?"
The Heavenly Demon Emperor was surprised to find a barely perceptible lightning-shaped scar on the back of his hand.
"Along the way," Jing Tian said, "My pace shouldn't have been this slow. Alright, we've arrived at the entrance to Li Shu Mountain."
"This is Shuangxi."
"The northernmost part of Li Shu Mountain, north of the northern part of the outer city of Li Shu Mountain."
"Further ahead lies the outer city of Commander Liao Ri."
In the game, the outer city is ruled by Xing Xuan, the son of Liao Ri.
However, Xing Xuan, also known as Zhou Xuan, has not yet been born.
Liao Ri's original name was Chi Yan. With Zi Xuan's help, he escaped from the Demon Locking Tower, but was discovered by the disciples of Shu Mountain. In a moment of desperation, Zi Xuan split Chi Yan into two: Chi Yan, a mortal with memories but no demonic power, and Liao Ri, a wolf demon with demonic power but no memories.
Chi Yan successfully reunited with his lover, Si Duan, who was a mortal.
Liao Ri was imprisoned in the Demon Locking Tower. Due to his incomplete body, he was on the verge of disintegration. Therefore, he opened the fire Earth Vein of Li Shu Mountain to maintain his integrity with the fire spirit. However, he inadvertently opened the passage at the bottom of the Demon Locking Tower, the Li Shu Mountain Road that should have existed but was sealed.
And thus became the master of Li Shu Mountain.
The reason Jing Tian asked the Heavenly Demon Emperor to remind Liao Ri of that sentence was...
It's because in the original timeline, Liao Ri found Chi Yan and Si Duan through his senses of another body. At that time, they had already had two children, Zhou Xuan (Xing Xuan) and Zhou Huang (Nangong Huang).
Liao Ri only wanted to hug the child, but Chi Yan misunderstood and stepped forward to stop him. Liao Ri pushed Chi Yan away, and Chi Yan died. Si Duan then committed suicide.
Chang Ji of the Shu Mountain Sect happened to arrive to capture him, but Zhou Xuan (Xing Xuan) was seriously injured in the fight.
As a result, Zhou Xuan (Xing Xuan) was taken away by Liao Ri and raised in Li Shu Mountain, while Zhou Huang (Nangong Huang) stayed behind and was adopted by Shushan and renamed Nangong Huang.
This led to a series of tragedies.
The story unfolds in "The Legend of Sword and Fairy 3: Prequel - The Tale of Love".
The reason for this was that Liao Ri mistakenly killed Chi Yan.
Or rather, Chi Yan indulged in a comfortable life. Despite possessing his memories, he chose not to cultivate and instead remained an ordinary person. He was extremely averse to his wolf demon self, which led to his accidental death.
Now, the tragedy has been averted at its starting point.
"We've arrived?" The Skeletal Demon heard the key words and slowly woke up.
What came into view was the rushing river and the numerous small islands scattered around.
"I like this environment."
"How should I hand it over to you after I've collected all the spiritual energy?" the Heavenly Demon Emperor asked.
"What matters is the information within the spiritual energy, not the spiritual energy itself," Jing Tian said. "Then goodbye."
[Pangu's Vitality] Expected!
The pure white figure holding the Fire Demon Beast disintegrated, turning into a wisp of green smoke.
Yongan Pawnshop.
"Goodbye then." Xue Jian left the pawnshop reluctantly, turning back every few steps.
As soon as Xue Jian left, Zhao Wenchang jogged over, his back bent.
"Brother Tian... no, Master Tian, is there anything you need to instruct Wenchang to do?"
"The 'Flowing Sleeve Immortal Dress' is available in the store. Send it to my room," Jing Tian said.
"This is a palace treasure that has remained intact for a thousand years. What if—" A Long was interrupted by Zhao Wenchang before he could finish speaking. "Yes. I will send it to the Emperor immediately."
Zhao Wenchang didn't care whether the accounts matched or not, since the treasure belonged to the public anyway.
The Flowing Sleeve Immortal Dress is a gift for Long Kui, who will be arriving soon.
In fact, the reason Jing Tian didn't search for the Demonic Sword while in the Demon Locking Tower was...
It was because of the earthquake last night, which was the sound of Chong Lou pulling out the Demonic Sword. The Demonic Sword was no longer in the Demon Locking Tower.
All he needs to do now is wait for Chong Lou to come to him.
Late at night.
"They're here." Jing Tian looked at the gate.
"Dang Jian." A burly man walked in, his bright red hair particularly striking.
He wore a black cloak that covered his body, and another distinctive feature was a fire-shaped tattoo on his neck and a fire-shaped mark above his brow.
This person was none other than Chong Lou.
"Why are you only arriving now? You already took the sword last night." Jing Tian asked curiously, "Besides me, who else could attract your attention?"
In fact, he already knew the answer.
After discovering the existence of Liao Ri and the Fire Demon Beast, he learned that Zi Xuan was a game setting.
When she rescued Chi Yan, Chong Lou was secretly observing her and fell in love with her because of it.
This is not unexpected.
Chong Lou admires the strong, and according to the game's setting, if Zi Xuan weren't a reclusive god, her strength would be the strongest in the human world.
Furthermore, Xu Changqing's joining the Shu Mountain sect, his subsequent encounters, acquaintances, expulsion from the Shu Mountain sect, and eventual ascension to immortality were all secretly orchestrated by him, and the Shu Mountain Five Elders were unaware of all of this.
She didn't rely on the Water Spirit Pearl to sustain herself, but rather used it to cultivate her Inner Elixir Water Spirit Pearl —an inner core that could directly enable Xu Changqing to become an immortal and then Inner Elixir with him for a long time.
Zi Xuan is impeccable in terms of strength, appearance, and intelligence. In addition, she is also a descendant of the Three Sovereigns who were banished from the God Realm. It is only natural that Chong Lou would develop feelings for her.
"Enough with the chit-chat!" Chong Lou changed the subject, tossing the sword in his hand to Jing Tian. "Fei Peng, now that you've regained your memories, why don't we go to the New Immortal Realm and have a fight right away?"
Chong Lou can be said to be the most skilled in spatial magic among the Demon Race. He can not only travel easily between the Six Realms, but also freely enter and exit the [Well of Gods and Demons] where space is distorted.
At the same time, he can also create his own private space that is independent of the real world.
As for teleporting other beings from one realm to another, that was also a piece of cake for Chong Lou.