Incarnating as a Demonic Embryo

"Have you heard?"

"Visitors from beyond the realms descended upon Taixu Mountain several years ago."

"Ancient Sages are preaching the Dao—such a great opportunity not seen in God knows how many millennia!"

Inside a teahouse, a youth talked eloquently, popularizing knowledge to the strangers around him. His gaze was fanatical, and his excitement was palpable.

His companions rested helplessly, having lost count of how many times they had already heard the exact same words.

If not for the long journey and the need to press on, the youth probably could have kept talking here for an entire day.

Just as the youth had said, no one knew which day it was several years ago when a second sun appeared in the sky.

Just as people felt bewildered, that second sun slowly descended.

In an instant, both mortals and spirits were terrified, as though the end of the world was about to arrive. Who would have expected that, as time passed, that sun would gradually shrink until it was the size of a meteorite, streaking across the horizon in a long trail of golden divine light?

The divine light was clearly visible even in broad daylight, supremely brilliant and arresting to the gaze, finally landing upon the summit of Taixu Mountain.

Some suspected that a rare treasure had descended into the world and wanted to go investigate, but before they could even ascend the mountain, a voice clearly entered their ears.

"Ancient Sages have established a Dao Field to widely accept disciples. Ten years from now, they will preach the Dao, and those with a fated connection may attain it."

Everyone across the entire planet learned of this news. Those who yearned for immortal fate immediately dropped everything and rushed toward Taixu Mountain like madmen.

Zhang Huan watched all of this unfold before his eyes.

Hmph, this flashy routine works surprisingly well when dealing with the weak.

Zhang Huan smiled with confidence. This planet was already the tenth one he had ascended to.

The experience he had accumulated was already consummate, and he possessed a specialized set of methods for generating hype.

If it were any other planet, Zhang Huan perhaps wouldn't have dared to be so flamboyant, but after arriving here, he had deliberately lain low for a period of time, long since figuring out the bottom line of this world.

Not to mention whether there were any Sages, over the past few thousand years not even a single King had emerged here. Although there were numerous mortals, there were hardly any immortal cultivation orthodoxies, and the cultivation techniques and resources were firmly monopolized.

Zhang Huan liked such planets the most—low risk and high return. With a little casual coercion and enticement, he smoothly brought the native orthodoxies into his pocket.

Among the previous planets, there was no lack of uncooperative native forces; when encountering stubborn ones, Zhang Huan simply left behind some seeds and let them fend for themselves and perish.

For places like this, he grandly established Dao Fields, causing the people of the entire planet to practice the Demonic Art.

His cultivation and aptitude rose with the tide every time. Coupled with the piling of resources, his cultivation was steadily improving even within the realm of a Sage.

Carefully calculating on his fingers, traveling between ten planets averaged several decades, and rectifying local organizations and preaching took another ten-odd years. Unwittingly, Zhang Huan had already spent over three hundred years in the starry sky.

Through years of operation, Zhang Huan's orthodoxy was also thriving. The disciples under his gate were numerous, and several local sects chose to submit. To prevent betrayal, Zhang Huan collected a wisp of the primordial spirit of these higher-ups.

No matter how unwilling they were, in the future they could only change their faces and provide a continuous stream of new cult members for Zhang Huan, unable to harbor even the slightest thought of rebellion.

After preaching the Dao and seeing that the number of people practicing the Demonic Art on the planet was overwhelmingly high, Zhang Huan began to search for his next target.

"Eternal Star Domain?"

In the boundless void, Zhang Huan intercepted a battleship. Treating its home star like venomous snakes and scorpions, he gave this group of pirate organizations a wide berth.

After civilizing several more planets, Zhang Huan successfully advanced to a Saint King.

At the same time, he discovered a horrifying truth.

On one planet, all the people practiced techniques that were virtually identical to Zhang Huan's Demonic Art.

When he first discovered this, he was greatly shocked and emotionally unsettled, at one point thinking he had reached the lair—the home star—of that pioneer of the Demonic Art.

Yet after investigating, the result was unexpected.

These people were cultivating identical subordinate techniques, and their cultivation was continuously plundered without them ever knowing.

A genius with an Innate Sword Body was past fifty years of age yet still lingered in the Dragon Transformation realm, and even so, they were already considered a native expert; the vast majority of the rest found it difficult to even achieve the Four Extremes.

Moreover, the faces of the people on the planet grew old at a tender age, their essence of life depleted to almost nothing.

This was not an issue of the external environment, but rather because the seeker was too greedy, treating them as inexhaustible, renewable fuel and squeezing them to the utmost.

Zhang Huan did not dare to act rashly, deep in thought within the void with furrowed brows.

Someone else, just like him, had set their sights on the ancient planets of life in the starry sky, utilizing this technique to accumulate provisions and thereby rapidly boost their cultivation.

Where did the opponent's technique come from?

It could even plunder the essence of life; compared to it, Zhang Huan's seemed like a defective version.

In the past, Zhang Huan had always believed there was only one copy of the Demonic Art and that its pioneer had long since died.

Yet the current situation gave him no choice but to ponder deeply.

Given its miraculous nature, the person who created this Demonic Art was definitely a prodigy. Their talent and daring far exceeded ordinary imagination—they must have been a monstrous figure.

If the other party was not dead and was hiding behind the scenes as an angler, waiting for the leeks to mature—

If that were the case, Zhang Huan and the other party were no different from chess pieces. In the eyes of the Demonic Art's founder, they were no different from those practicing the subordinate demonic art, likewise acting as provisions, merely waiting to be harvested sooner or later.

Zhang Huan associated this with the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art. Comparing the two, the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art was definitely superior, but this Demonic Art also had its merits. It carved out a unique path, possessing both the shadow of swallowing the heavens and bearing some similarity to the supremes devouring all beings during the Dark Turmoil.

This kind of approach is indeed no different from the inherent meaning implied by the Demonic Art.

Zhang Huan's heart sank in a rare moment. Ever since discovering the Demonic Art, he felt as though he had fallen into an invisible net.

Unless he crippled his own cultivation and restarted by cultivating a different method—

Zhang Huan shook his head. This lifetime was the era with the most hope. With hundreds of years of accumulation, he would never accept having it all go up in smoke just like that.

No matter what monster or ancient person he is, anyone who dares to block my path must die, even a Quasi-Emperor!

Bloodlust flashed across his pupils. Zhang Huan possessed the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar in his hand, so by then it remained to be seen who would eat whom. If he truly met them, Zhang Huan would definitely make sure to devour the other party until not even their bones and scum remained!

[After advancing to a Saint King, you discovered the hidden conspiracy of the Demonic Art, and you craved even greater power. At this time, you were over four hundred years old.]

[You fortuitously encountered a Sage on an ancient star who also cultivated the Demonic Art. After searching their soul, you confirmed that there was an angler behind the scenes.]

[Hearing that traces of an Immortal Medicine had appeared in a certain realm, you searched for thirty years in order to defy fate and alter the destiny of your true body, ultimately returning empty-handed.]

If he became an Emperor, then everything would be easily resolved. The Heaven's Heart was yet unsettled, and Zhang Huan still harbored expectations.

As his realm grew more profound, traversing the starry sky also became increasingly easy.

Not long after, news that shook the universe spread like wildfire.

A Quasi-Emperor wearing an Ancient Emperor's Robe slaughtered his way into the Starry Sky Ancient Road, starting a massacre on the Sole True Path!

He chose his timing far too well, making a move at a time when contemporary geniuses and monsters had almost all emerged, committing slaughter almost like mowing grass.

Beneath the Quasi-Emperor, all are ants!

Not to mention that he even possessed an Imperial Weapon.

Several Imperial Passes were shattered, leaving millions of floating corpses. Countless genius seeds were put to the sword, including those individuals who had already reached the Great Saint Peak and were lauded as Young Emperors.

It was supposed to be an era of prosperity about to rise, yet it ended before it even began. All the most monstrous living beings of an era perished; what would those left behind use to contend for that Emperor throne?

If they had been given another few hundred years to become Quasi-Emperors, this group of people would not have died so easily on the Starry Sky Ancient Road.

For a time, public indignation flared. Countless people were cursing that mysterious Quasi-Emperor, hoping to uncover his identity.

Yet this person seemed to have just popped out of a rock crevice. Along with that Imperial Weapon, he vanished from that point on, hiding without a trace.

Whose handiwork is this? A Quasi-Emperor and an Imperial Weapon—there aren't many who can gather both of these conditions.

To act with such frantic disregard for consequences could only mean there was profit to be gained. Forces with such conditions could also be counted on one's fingers within the universe. With the information Zhang Huan possessed, it was very easy to weed them out.

Perhaps someone was confident in ascending the Emperor throne but had fallen too far behind, so they hired someone to pull off a job.

Or perhaps certain individuals simply didn't want an Emperor to emerge in this lifetime; the forbidden zones fit this motivation quite well.

Ten thousand years ago, the Void Blood War across major forbidden zones forced them into desperate battles or dormant hibernation, halting the Dark Turmoil.

So many years had passed, and some supremes might no longer be able to hold on, needing to devour living beings to prolong their lifespans. Therefore, ordering their subordinates to pull off such a stunt also aligned with conjecture.

Regardless of the true facts, the Starry Sky Ancient Road would definitely experience a major earthquake soon, impacting countless star domains.

With so many people dead, coupled with the fact that the Great Saints garrisoning the place either died or fled, it was already chaotic and disordered. A turbulent era was about to begin.

It truly was the correct choice back then not to overestimate oneself and head to the Ancient Path. Zhang Huan couldn't help but tightly squeeze out a bead of sweat, hoping that this disturbance wouldn't affect him.

Over the subsequent five hundred years, Zhang Huan successively discovered a few more planets where the Demonic Art was cultivated. He no longer concealed it, directly having them all switch over to practice the Demonic Art he had modified himself.

[At over a thousand years of age, you finally broke through to the Great Saint realm.]

[Even with the assistance of the Demonic Art to wash away your aptitude, compared to those monsters who reached Great Saint in three to five hundred years, your aptitude could only be described as mediocre.]

Saint power surged and expanded, easily capable of covering a stardomain. His vital blood was boundless, shattering the Milky Way with a flick of his finger. This peerless power was intoxicative.

This Demonic Art was already fully cultivated, with no subsequent chapters remaining. Zhang Huan had a premonition: if he wanted to advance further, unless he encountered a heaven-defying opportunity, the Great Saint realm would be his final destination.

Given his current circumstances, he would never be able to pierce through the Quasi-Emperor threshold even if he exhausted his entire life.

He intended to emulate Great Emperor Ruthless and the Chaos Ancient of later generations, taking the path of incarnating as a demonic embryo and breaking out of a cocoon to be reborn.