Under Chen Song's "pill temptation" and "skill development guidance" (which was really just blind command), Big White began exploring its Devour skill.
At first, it naturally stumbled along. It either nearly burst from unstable pill energy or tried to "devour" Tongtian's sword qi and got fried crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
But it had to be said that this stupid dog possessed astonishing talent and resilience when it came to "eating." With its absurd defense as a foundation, after several months, it actually figured out a few tricks—it could briefly "devour" some low-energy attacks and convert them into an explosive burst of speed for itself!
Though it lasted only a short time, consumed a great deal of energy, and was useless against high-level divine abilities, it was still a good start. Chen Song grandly named it Energy Devouring Sprint, while Big White smugly felt that it was finally no longer a useless dog that could only take hits and drool.
The second matter was the official beginning of a long period of secluded cultivation.
This time, he was no longer passively accepting the teachings of the Three Pure Ones. Instead, he took the initiative to explore and integrate. His cultivation steadily improved without his noticing, and his understanding of the Great Dao deepened by the day.
While Chen Song remained in Kunlun Mountain, deaf to all matters beyond his window and focused solely on cultivating the sage's path, the outside prehistoric world underwent earth-shaking changes.
As Chen Song cultivated in seclusion deep within Kunlun Mountain, ignoring worldly affairs, the skies of the eastern prehistoric world were dyed into a grim tableau of blood and demon clouds.
The Immortal Court founded by East King Duke, the Male Immortal Leader, appeared to be a place where "ten thousand immortals came to pay homage." In truth, it was filled with a motley crowd, mostly wandering cultivators and rogue immortals who relied on East King Duke's reputation but possessed neither genuine ability nor a steadfast Dao Heart. It was secretly mocked throughout the prehistoric world as "a gathering hall for stray cats and dogs."
Although East King Duke's own strength ranked among the foremost in the prehistoric world, he lacked the ability to command and the ruthlessness to enforce discipline. As a result, the Immortal Court's rules were lax, and it was strong on the outside but weak within.
In contrast, under the rule of Di Jun and Taiyi, the Demon Race Heavenly Court had undergone consolidation and now possessed a powerful army with strict discipline.
With its enormous racial population, well-trained demon troops, and the absolute martial strength of Di Jun and Taiyi, two peak Quasi-Saints, it already had the power to sweep through an entire region. Destroying the Immortal Court would not only eliminate an unsightly nominal rival, but would also be a crucial step in establishing the demon race's authority across the prehistoric world and gathering supreme fate.
Once the war began, it struck with the force of thunder.
Di Jun personally led the army. The River Diagram and Luo Book unfolded, concealing the Heavenly Secrets and disrupting yin and yang, instantly cutting off most of the connection between Zifu Prefecture, the Immortal Court's core sacred ground, and the outside world. Taiyi held the Chaos Bell above his head. Its vast chimes suppressed primordial chaos, and beneath the sweep of its terrifying soundwaves, the Immortal Court's outer defensive formations shattered like paper.
East King Duke was both shocked and enraged as he led his forces into battle. Yet the Immortal Court's so-called "assembled immortals" were utterly vulnerable before the concentrated charge of the demon race's elite. Demon Saint Ci Tie, Nine Infants, and other fierce generals charged at the front, each revealing enormous Dharma forms. Demon winds swept forth, poisonous flames filled the sky, and Immortal Court cultivators fell in swathes wherever they passed, their flesh and blood flying everywhere.
Though a small number of loyal and valiant cultivators from the Immortal Court fought desperately, before the demon race's overwhelming strength and disciplined battle formations, they were merely trying to stop a chariot with their arms.
East King Duke was besieged by Di Jun and Taiyi. Though powerful, he could not fight four hands with two. The River Diagram and Luo Book trapped him through their calculations, while the Chaos Bell exerted absolute suppression. Kunpeng lurked in the shadows, waiting for the right moment before launching a sneak attack. A stream of North Sea Cold Fiend Energy transformed into an invisible blade, worsening East King Duke's predicament.
In the end, East King Duke attempted to self-destruct in a heaven-shaking explosion, intending to perish together with part of the demon race's elite. Yet the Chaos Bell firmly froze space and time, greatly reducing its power. His True Spirit ultimately could not escape destruction, and Di Jun seized his accompanying spiritual treasures as well.
With their commander dead, the remaining members of the Immortal Court scattered like birds and beasts. Those who resisted stubbornly were slaughtered without mercy, while even those who surrendered became slaves of the demon race. Zifu Prefecture, once glorious beyond compare, was ravaged by the demon army. Its spiritual veins collapsed, its palaces crumbled, and it became a scorched wasteland of ruins, its soaring baleful aura lingering for a long time.
With this great victory, the Demon Race Heavenly Court shook the prehistoric world. Its golden dragon of fate became increasingly solid and majestic, proclaiming the stability of its position as hegemon. Yet the monstrous baleful aura brought by annihilating a major power, along with its already irreconcilable conflict with the witch race, was like a spark thrown into boiling oil. Tribulation Qi began to breed and spread throughout heaven and earth at an unprecedented pace.
Just as the demon army returned in triumph laden with spoils and busied itself digesting the fruits of victory, two somewhat dim, travel-worn streaks of fleeing light silently descended at the edge of Zifu Prefecture's now-dead ruins.
They were none other than Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti from the west.
As the fleeing lights dispersed, they revealed Jieyin and Zhunti's faces, one full of "sorrow," the other full of "shrewdness."
"Alas..." Jieyin looked at the ruined scene before him and sighed before speaking. His brows were so tightly furrowed they could have crushed a fly. "Bitter, Junior Brother, the west is so bitter... Look at the east. After a single war, even its ruins are richer than our Spirit Mountain..."
Zhunti had no time to sigh first. His eyes rolled constantly as his divine sense, like the finest sieve, quickly scanned the ruins. He echoed, "Yes, Senior Brother, bitter, far too bitter! That's why we absolutely can't come for nothing! No matter how ruined this Immortal Court is, even a dead camel is bigger than a horse. There must be something left behind, right? Those demon race fellows are good at fighting, but they definitely aren't so meticulous when it comes to looting!"
As he spoke, he had already begun digging. From beneath a pile of broken stones, he pulled out a section of spiritual root that was nearly charred black. Carefully brushing away the ashes, he revealed a faint glimmer of spiritual light. "Quick, Senior Brother! This... this seems to be the roots of a Calming Heart Lotus? It's nearly dead, but if we take it back and soak it in water from the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, we might be able to save it! It's a little bitter, but it's still better than nothing!"
Jieyin also joined the "treasure hunt," prying several jade fragments bearing incomplete runes from beneath a shattered boulder. Sensing the minuscule remnants of Dao charm within, a trace of comfort appeared on his sorrowful face. "Bitter... but if we take these remnants back and study them, perhaps they can add something to our Western Teachings. Even a mosquito's leg is meat, Junior Brother."
Thus, these two great powers, destined to attain Saint Positions in the future, transformed into the prehistoric world's greatest "bargain scavengers" and began their "meticulous looting" across the vast ruins of the Immortal Court.
"Senior Brother! Over here! There seem to be some Immortal Jade scraps buried beneath these broken tiles!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Bitter, they're all fragments... but if we take them back and pave the ground with them, they can still add a little spiritual qi, can't they?"
"Hey! There's a broken Alchemy Furnace here, and its bottom has even fallen out! But the material seems pretty good? Let's dismantle it and take it back to be reforged!"
"Good, good, good! It may be bitter, but saving even a little is still saving!"
They specifically picked through the corners and edges, searching for "scraps" that had been blasted away and shattered during the battle, things the demon race could not be bothered to notice. Their movements were swift, their eyes precise, and their cooperation seamless. Occasionally, they even politely yielded to each other over a small shard with slightly denser spiritual light. "Junior Brother, you take it!" "No, no, Senior Brother, you need it more!" They fully displayed the virtue of "thrift" cultivated by the west's harsh conditions.
From time to time, demon race patrols flew overhead. Seeing the two Daoists rummaging through the ruins, covered in dust and dirt, they could not help casting them contemptuous looks.
"Boss, who are those two poor fools? Are they picking up trash?"
"Who cares? They're from the west. I hear that place is dirt poor, so they probably haven't seen much of the world. Ignore them. Bad luck!"
Jieyin and Zhunti turned a deaf ear to it, or rather, they were already used to such things. Face? What was that? Was it more valuable than tangible resources? Bitter, the west was so bitter! Without careful calculation and frugality, how could they develop and grow stronger?
By the time several storage bags had been stuffed full, though most of what they held was "junk" that eastern cultivators would not even spare a glance for, the two were thoroughly satisfied.
"Senior Brother, the harvest was decent!" Zhunti patted the bulging bag, and a rare trace of a smile appeared on his face, though it was swiftly replaced by sorrow again. "It's just... when I think of how prosperous the east is, while we can only pick up scraps from the edges, my heart still feels bitter..."
Jieyin also let out a long sigh. He looked at the eastern lands of rivers and mountains like brocade, then thought of the barren west. At last, his gaze became resolute. "It may be bitter, but life must go on. Junior Brother, let's return and manage things properly. One day..."
He did not finish the rest, but the two exchanged a look and saw in each other's eyes the same determination: The west will surely flourish.
Two dusty streaks of fleeing light rose once more, carrying the "family possessions" they had painstakingly collected, and silently vanished into the western horizon.
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