Incarnating as a Demonic Embryo

# Chapter 5: Incarnating as a Demonic Embryo

"Have you heard?"

"A few years ago, visitors from beyond descended upon Taixu Mountain."

"Ancient Sages preaching the Dao—a Great Opportunity unseen for several millennia!"

Inside the teahouse, a youth was speaking with fervor, educating the strangers around him. His eyes burned with zeal, excitement plain on his face.

His companions rested helplessly, having heard the same words countless times already.

If not for the long journey ahead and the need to hurry, the youth could have gone on talking here all day.

Just as the youth said, a few years ago, on some unknown day, a second sun appeared in the sky.

Just as people were wondering what it meant, the other sun slowly descended.

In that instant, gods and men alike trembled, as if the end of the world had come. Yet as time passed, the sun gradually shrank, until it was the size of a meteor, trailing a long golden streak across the heavens.

The Divine Light was Clearly Visible even in broad daylight, dazzling beyond words, impossible to look away from. It finally landed atop Taixu Mountain.

Some suspected a rare treasure had descended and wanted to investigate, but before they could even ascend the mountain, a voice rang clearly in their ears.

"An Ancient Sage has established a Dao field, widely accepting disciples. In ten years, the Dao will be preached. All with fate may obtain it."

The entire planet learned of this news. Those thirsting for Immortal Fate abandoned everything and rushed madly toward Taixu Mountain.

Zhang Huan watched it all unfold.

"Hmph. This flashy routine works surprisingly well on the weak."

Zhang Huan smiled confidently. This planet was already the tenth he had set foot on.

His accumulated experience was now polished to perfection. He had a specialized set of methods to attract attention.

On other planets, Zhang Huan might not dare to be so ostentatious, but after arriving here, he had spent some time lying low and thoroughly investigated this planet's background.

Not to mention Saints—in the past few thousand years, not even a King had emerged here. Though mortals were plentiful, there were few cultivation lineages. Techniques and resources were tightly controlled.

Zhang Huan loved planets like this. Low risk, high reward. A little intimidation and bribery, and the local sects were smoothly gathered into his fold.

Among the previous planets, some had troublesome Native Forces. When he encountered difficult ones, Zhang Huan left a few seeds behind and let them fend for themselves.

For places like this, he set up grand Dao fields and made the entire planet cultivate his demonic art.

Every time, his cultivation and talent rose accordingly. With resources piled on, even at the Saint realm, his progress steadily advanced.

Counting carefully, traveling between ten planets alone took decades. Consolidating local organizations and spreading his teachings took another ten-plus years. Before he knew it, Zhang Huan had spent over three hundred years in the starry void.

After years of operation, Zhang Huan's Sect flourished. He had many disciples, and several local Sects chose to submit. To prevent betrayal, Zhang Huan took a strand of each high-level member's Primordial Spirit.

No matter how unwilling they were, from now on they could only change their faces and provide Zhang Huan with a steady stream of new followers. They could not even conceive of rebellion.

After preaching the Dao and seeing that the vast majority on the planet cultivated his demonic art, Zhang Huan began searching for his next target.

"The Eternal Star Domain?"

In the boundless void, Zhang Huan detected a warship. He avoided its home planet like a snake or scorpion, giving the pirate organization a wide berth.

After converting several more planets, Zhang Huan smoothly advanced to Saint King.

At the same time, he discovered a horrifying truth.

On one planet, everyone cultivated a technique nearly identical to Zhang Huan's demonic art.

When he first discovered this, he was greatly shocked, his mind unsettled. For a moment, he thought he had arrived at the founder's lair—the home planet of the demonic art's creator.

But after investigating, the result was unexpected.

These people were all cultivating a subsidiary technique, their cultivation being drained away continuously without them knowing.

A genius with an Innate Sword Body, already past fifty, was still stuck wandering at the Dragon Transformation realm. Yet even so, he was considered a local expert. Most others couldn't even reach the Four Extremes.

Moreover, the people on this planet aged prematurely, their Essence of Life nearly depleted.

It wasn't the external environment's fault. The one demanding from them was too greedy, treating them as an inexhaustible, renewable fuel source, squeezing them dry.

Zhang Huan dared not act rashly. He frowned deeply, thinking in the void.

Someone else, like him, had set their sights on the ancient life planets of the starry sky, using this technique to accumulate Provisions and rapidly advance their cultivation.

Where had the other's technique come from?

It could even seize the Essence of Life. Compared to it, Zhang Huan's version seemed like a crippled copy.

In the past, Zhang Huan had always believed there was only one demonic art, and its creator had long since died.

But the situation before him forced him to think deeply.

Given its miraculous nature, the creator of this demonic art was absolutely a genius. Their talent and boldness far exceeded ordinary imagination—they must be a monstrous figure.

If the other hadn't died, hiding Behind the Scenes, fishing, waiting for the Leeks to ripen...

Then Zhang Huan and the other were also Chess Pieces. In the eyes of the demonic art's founder, they were no different from those cultivating the subsidiary technique—also Provisions, merely harvested sooner or later.

Zhang Huan thought of the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art. Comparing the two, the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art was definitely superior. But this demonic art had its merits too—it took a different path, bearing traces of Heaven Swallowing while also resembling the Dark Turmoil when the Supremes devoured All Beings.

"This approach... is no different from the original intent of the demonic art."

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

Unless he crippled his own cultivation and started over with a different method.

Zhang Huan shook his head. This life was the most promising one. To let centuries of accumulation go up in flames like that—he would never accept it.

"Whatever monster or ancient it is, if it dares block my path, even a Quasi-Emperor will die!"

A bloodthirsty gleam flashed in his eyes. With the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar in hand, who knew who would devour whom? If he really met them, Zhang Huan would make sure not even their bone fragments remained!

[After advancing to Saint King, you discovered the hidden conspiracy behind the Demonic Art and craved even greater power. You are now over four hundred years old.]

[On an ancient star, you happened upon a Saint who also cultivated the Demonic Art. After soul-searching him, you confirmed that there was an Angler behind the scenes.]

[You heard rumors of Immortal Medicine appearing in a certain domain. To defy fate for your true self, you searched for thirty years, ultimately returning empty-handed.]

If he could become an Emperor, everything would be easily resolved. The Heavenly Heart was still undecided, and Zhang Huan clung to hope.

As his cultivation deepened, crossing the starry sky grew easier.

Not long after, a piece of news shook the universe.

A Quasi-Emperor, clad in an Ancient Emperor's Robe, charged into the Starry Sky Ancient Road and began a massacre on the Sole True Path!

He had chosen his timing perfectly. He struck when nearly all the geniuses and monsters of the era had gathered, mowing them down like grass.

All beneath Quasi-Emperor were ants!

Let alone the fact that he also wielded an Emperor Weapon.

Several Imperial Passes were shattered. Millions upon millions of corpses littered the ground. Countless seeds of genius were slaughtered, including those who had reached Great Saint Peak and were hailed as Young Emperors.

A golden age was about to dawn, but it ended before it even began. The most monstrous beings of an era all perished. With what was left, who could contend for the Emperor's throne?

If they had been given a few more centuries to become Quasi-Emperors, these people would not have died so easily on the Starry Sky Ancient Road.

For a time, outrage boiled over. Countless people cursed the mysterious Quasi-Emperor, hoping to uncover his identity.

Yet this man seemed to have sprung from a crack in a stone. Even the Ancient Emperor Weapon vanished without a trace, hiding so completely that no one could find him.

"Whose handiwork is this? A Quasi-Emperor and an Emperor Weapon—there aren't many who can meet both conditions."

To act so ruthlessly, there had to be profit involved. Forces with such resources were few and far between in the universe. With the information Zhang Huan had, it was easy to narrow down.

Maybe someone confident in claiming the Emperor's throne but lagging too far behind had hired someone to do the dirty work.

Or maybe some simply didn't want an Emperor to emerge in this era. The Forbidden Zones fit that motive perfectly.

Ten thousand years ago, the Void Blood War had pressed every Forbidden Zone, forcing them to fight to the death or lie low, stopping the Dark Turmoil.

So many years had passed. Some Supremes might no longer be able to hold on, needing to devour living beings to extend their lifespans. Ordering their underlings to do such a thing fit the speculation.

No matter the truth, the Starry Sky Ancient Road was bound to face a massive earthquake soon, shaking countless star domains.

With so many dead, and the guarding Great Saints either killed or fled, chaos and disorder reigned. A turbulent age was coming.

Not having overestimated himself and gone to the Ancient Road back then was truly the right choice. Zhang Huan couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, hoping this storm wouldn't affect him.

Over the next five hundred years, Zhang Huan discovered several more planets cultivating the Demonic Art. He no longer bothered to hide it, forcing them all to switch to his revised version of the Demonic Art.

[At over a thousand years old, you finally broke through to Great Saint.]

[Even with the Demonic Art's help in refining your talent, compared to those monsters who reached Great Saint in three to five hundred years, your aptitude can only be called barely passable.]

Saint Power surged and expanded, easily covering an entire star domain. His blood energy was vast and boundless. With a snap of his fingers, he could shatter the Milky Way. This unmatched power was intoxicating.

The Demonic Art had been fully cultivated, with no further chapters. Zhang Huan had a feeling that if he wanted to go further, he would need a heaven-defying opportunity. Otherwise, Great Saint would be his end.

Given his current situation, he would never be able to cross the threshold of Quasi-Emperor in a lifetime.

He planned to follow the path of Great Emperor Ruthless and the later Chaos Ancient—Incarnating as a Demonic Embryo, breaking the cocoon and being reborn.