Cave (II)

Inside the cave, stalactites and stalagmites take on countless shapes and forms. Some are thick, some thin, some long, some short, some Linglong, some grotesque. Several luminous pearls are placed in prominent positions around the cave, emitting a soft, weak light that makes the dark, shadowy areas even darker, while the slightly brighter areas appear pale, creating a strong sense of oppression.

In the center of the cave was a pool about five meters square, filled with a red liquid. The strong smell of blood, along with the bloodstains around the pool, made it easy to tell that the red liquid in the pool was fresh blood.

At this moment, a slow undercurrent was surging beneath the blood pool, with occasional bubbles rising to the surface. Thousands of various venomous snakes thrown into the pool were frantically swimming around, seemingly terrified. However, the surrounding pool walls were too high; they would only manage to cling to half their bodies before falling back down, but they still stubbornly climbed on, hoping to escape the blood pool.

As the snakes churned frantically in the blood pool, more and more bubbles rose, making a constant "gurgling" sound, gradually becoming like boiling water. The venomous snakes that had climbed the walls shed their skin like molting leaves, slowly sliding into the blood pool, their winding bones still clinging to the walls. In the blink of an eye, the walls of the crimson blood pool were covered with jagged white bones.

In no time, the snake-like creatures that had been wandering around were all dead. The stench of blood grew stronger, and a blood mist slowly rose from the blood pool, spreading throughout the underground space.

This unusual commotion caused the four members of the Man Hu to exchange bewildered glances. Even after the crimson blood mist had permeated the entire space, another disturbance arose. The blood mist churned, seemingly gaining sentience, and began to condense into countless long, serpentine strands, which wandered and danced throughout the space.

The four brothers, Man Hu and his companions, looked around, not daring to even breathe. Suddenly, the wandering blood mist red snakes all stopped and slowly turned their heads to look at the four brothers. Although the four were highly skilled, they were still terrified.

The crimson snakes, their tails swaying merrily, seemed to have spotted their prey. They opened their gaping maws and swarmed towards the four of them with a whoosh. The four were startled and instantly released their protective Gang Qi.

"Hmm?" Just as the snakes were about to approach the four people, a muffled groan with a warning tone suddenly echoed in the underground space, and it was unclear from which direction it came.

The swarm of snakes froze in mid-air, not daring to advance an inch further. Each one seemed to tremble in the air as it turned its head to look at the blood pool. The four members of the Man Hu also looked at the blood pool with lingering fear, only to see two faint red lights appearing at the bottom of the pool.

The red light grew brighter and brighter, clearly slowly approaching the surface of the blood pool. With a "whoosh," a head emerged from the pool, followed by a body that slowly rose, until finally, a blood-soaked figure stood motionless in mid-air, about two meters above the pool. Eerie red eyes stared coldly and mercilessly at the four figures.

The four members of the Man Hu Clan, though well-traveled and knowledgeable, still couldn't suppress the terror on their faces upon seeing this man. The naked, blood-soaked figure was emaciated, like a withered twig. His limbs were thin and bony, and the jagged bones on his abdomen resembled deep ravines. His long, blood-stained hair clung to his dry, narrow face and shoulders. He was practically a living corpse, yet his slowly moving, blood-red eyes told the four that he was still alive.

Such an appearance—neither human, nor ghost, nor demon, nor dried corpse—could this be the image of a demon? The four members of the Man Hu stared at each other in disbelief. They naturally knew that this person was the Young Palace Lord, Yan Zhuixing, but with this appearance, how could he ever go out and face people again?

"Heh... heh..." Yan Zhuixing's withered arms were outstretched, his shriveled mouth opened to reveal his gleaming white teeth, and a piercing howl echoed from his throat, reverberating endlessly in the underground space.

The crimson snakes, shrouded in blood mist all around, which had been trembling and shrinking, suddenly swarmed forward as if summoned by a piercing howl. The four members of the Man Hu stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief.

Yan Zhuixing's gaping red mouth and white teeth resembled a serpentine lair, with blood-red snakes eagerly swarming into it. Meanwhile, Yan Zhuixing's shriveled, corpse-like body gradually swelled and plumped up, the blood dripping from his body into the pool of blood – a gruesome scene that made onlookers want to vomit.

After the last crimson serpent of blood mist was swallowed, Yan Zhuixing closed his mouth, and the eerie red light in his eyes gradually faded, returning him to a calm state. Although he was still naked, his full physique was now like that of a normal person; the only difference was that his entire body was covered in blood.

The four members of the Man Hu exchanged glances. Although still shaken, they finally breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew all their protective Gang Qi. Yan Zhuixing, floating in the air, looked down at himself, then suddenly flashed away, heading straight out of the cave.

"He can fly now, he's reached the Tribulation Transcendence stage. His progress is indeed rapid, no wonder he cultivated the Demon Codex." Man Hu exclaimed in amazement.

The third brother nodded slightly and said, "According to the Demon Codex, he should currently be at the Demon General level! If he makes another leap forward and breaks through to the Spirit Transformation stage, he will be at the Demon King level. I wonder what the Great Devil King level will be like?"

"Bang!" A loud noise suddenly came from outside, and the echo reverberated inside the cave. The group of people exchanged glances.

"Stop talking nonsense, let's go see what's going on." With Man Hu, the four of them flew out of the cave together.

As soon as the four arrived outside the cave, they saw a large opening on one side of the entrance. A rustling sound came from inside, and Seventh Brother emerged, covered in dust and dirt, shouting angrily, "Who attacked us?"

He turned around and found his four senior brothers staring at him with surprise. He paused for a moment and asked, "You're the ones who hit me?"

The four exchanged glances, ignored him, and looked around. After a while, their eyes were all focused on the large round rock under the waterfall, where Yan Zhuixing was sitting naked under the waterfall, letting the water rush down on him.

His red stains were washed away, revealing a robust and powerful body that freely and unrestrainedly embraced the impact of the waterfall. If it weren't for the fact that his face was familiar to the group, they would probably have thought they were seeing things. The original Yan Zhuixing was rather thin, but now he was so strong that it was almost unbelievable.

After waiting for about half an hour, Yan Zhuixing suddenly plunged into the deep pool, emerged from the water not far from the group, climbed ashore, and walked naked towards them.

Her skin was translucent and fair, even better than a woman's. The other disciples couldn't help but glance again at Yan Zhuixing's lower body, noticing that his manhood seemed considerably larger. They all secretly clicked their tongues in amazement; this Demon Codex truly had many miraculous effects.

Man Hu tossed a Storage Bag to Yan Zhuixing, his face somewhat grim, and asked, "Young Palace Lord, did you just lay a hand on my seventh junior brother?" He could tolerate other things, but the fact that his junior brother had been attacked made him want to ask.

Yan Zhuixing took out clothes from his Storage Bag and put them on while saying casually, "When I came out just now, I suddenly found someone blocking the middle of the cave entrance. He didn't seem to be a gatekeeper, so I thought someone had trespassed and took action. When I found out it was your Seventh Brother, although it was too late, I still managed to deflect most of the force. Otherwise, with my 'Little Demon Fist,' he would have been seriously injured, if not killed, by my unpreparedness. How could he be standing here unharmed?"

After dressing, he straightened himself up and immediately transformed into a refined and handsome young man. Then, he looked indifferently at Man Hu and said, "Imperial Preceptor, there's no need to take it to heart. I didn't mean it. It was just a misunderstanding."

The group turned to look at their junior brother. The Seventh Brother patted himself all over and grinned, "I'm really fine, haha! But that punch was really powerful. It made my Blood Qi surge and I almost vomited."

Seeing that his junior brother was alright, Man Hu frowned and said, "Since it was a misunderstanding, let's just let it go. By the way, congratulations to the Young Palace Lord for awakening the demonic blood." The other disciples also offered their congratulations.

"I must thank the Imperial Preceptor for his generous gift of the Demon Codex." Yan Zhuixing looked around at the green mountains and clear waters and sighed, "The Demon Codex, the Demon Codex, truly deserves to be called a classic. Nowadays, most people in the Cultivation World are ranked by their cultivation level. A few people with some decent methods can establish their own sects. Humph! They are all frogs in a well."

"Young Palace Lord, you must not be careless. The Cultivation World is full of hidden talents. Those top experts are all exceptionally gifted, and most of them have developed one or two signature techniques, Non-Self Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators can do," Man Hu solemnly warned.

"Oh! Are you referring to those Spirit Transformation stage experts you mentioned?" Yan Zhuixing asked casually.

"That's right." Man Hu nodded and said, "Those people's abilities are almost beyond the reach of the world. They have already reached the pinnacle of this world. The so-called late Tribulation Transcendence stage is nothing more than an ant in their eyes."

"Imperial Preceptor, there is something I don't understand. The Huaxia Cultivation World is so vast, why is there not a single Spirit Transformation stage expert? On the contrary, in your small country, almost every country has a Spirit Transformation stage expert in charge."

Yan Zhuixing turned his head and asked, "Logically speaking, with such a large proportion of cultivators in the Huaxia Cultivation World, there should be many experts. Why are there none? Is it really true that different regions nurture different people? Can't the Chinese land produce experts at the Nascent Spirit Transformation stage? This is really puzzling to me. I hope the Imperial Preceptor can enlighten me."

The fellow disciples exchanged somewhat awkward glances. Man Hu shook his head and smiled wryly, "That's not the case. In reality, most Spirit Transformation stage experts come from the Chinese Huaxia Cultivation World and originally lived in seclusion there. However, more than a thousand years ago, a madman suddenly appeared in the Huaxia Cultivation World, seeking out Spirit Transformation stage experts to spar with. Those Spirit Transformation stage experts were so annoyed by his harassment that they all moved out of the Huaxia Cultivation World for peace and quiet."

"I see!" Yan Zhuixing nodded, then asked with some doubt, "So, can I understand it this way: back then, none of the Spirit Transformation stage experts in the Huaxia Cultivation World were a match for that madman, so they were forced to flee?"

"Maybe! I don't know the specifics." Man Hu awkwardly touched his forehead. His master had also been scared away by that person.

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