Demonic Race

"Beast God Ridge was a rather unusual place in the Great Wilderness. It stretched for eight hundred li in every direction. It was said that a Beast God had fallen there, and its corpse had transformed into Beast God Ridge. It was a paradise for strange beasts, where all kinds of ferocious animals lived. These strange beasts were called Demonic Beasts by the Qi Practitioners of my Sword Gate."

Aboard Cloud Canvas, Ting Lanyue said to Zhong Yue, "Junior Brother, Demonic Beasts cultivate from ferocious beasts, but most of them possess little intelligence. Some Demonic Beasts, however, can transform into humans and are called the Demonic Race. That is rather interesting. Whether we are the Human race or the Demon race, we are born as humans or demons. The Demonic Race, on the other hand, can only become the Demonic Race through cultivation. Yet all those who can become members of the Demonic Race are Qi Practitioners, with astonishing divine abilities. They are extremely terrifying!"

Tao Daier laughed. "But there are no Demonic Race Qi Practitioners in Beast God Ridge. I heard there are Holy Lands of the Demonic Race beyond the Great Wilderness, but the Great Wilderness is our Sword Gate's territory. With our Sword Gate guarding the Great Wilderness, the Demonic Race wouldn't dare invade. This mission from the Sword Gate will be a piece of cake for us."

"Tao Tao, you said you smelled Junior Brother Zhong before. How exactly did you smell him?" Ting Lanyue sized up Tao Daier and Zhong Yue before suddenly teasing her.

"Yeah, yeah!"

The other girls immediately perked up and laughed. "Come on, tell us how you two smelled each other!"

"Tao Tao, what part of Senior Brother Zhong did you smell? His face or his mouth? Or somewhere else?"

Tao Daier sprang up, her almond eyes raised fiercely as she planted her hands on her hips. "Keep it up, and I'll throw every one of you little brats off the cloud!"

"Tao Tao's weak spot has been caught, so she's getting fierce now."

A girl pouted and leaned toward Tao Daier, giggling. "Was it like this, mouth to mouth?"

The two girls nearly pressed their lips together. Tao Daier finally blushed and hurriedly turned her little head aside, sending the other girls into laughter. Cloud Canvas rang with cheerful voices.

Zhong Yue's face flushed scarlet from embarrassment as well. He could only pretend not to have heard and say, "Senior Sisters, what is the world beyond the Great Wilderness like?"

The many girls exchanged glances and shook their heads. One of them said, "We don't know either. None of us has ever left the Great Wilderness. But I heard that the lands beyond it are incomparably dangerous. People have left the Great Wilderness before, but most of them never returned."

"That's not all! I also heard that people often disappear from the tribes along the Great Wilderness's borders. They were captured and eaten by devils from beyond the Great Wilderness!"

Zhong Yue looked toward Yu Feiyan. "Senior Sister, you are well-informed. Have you ever been beyond the Great Wilderness?"

Yu Feiyan shook her head. "I have not, but there are Qi Practitioners of the Youyu Clan who have traveled outside. Beyond the Great Wilderness... is not a place for humans to live."

The girls hurriedly questioned her, but Yu Feiyan was unwilling to say more. "Once you become Qi Practitioners, you may have a chance to go beyond the Great Wilderness and take a look."

"Not a place for humans to live? What kind of assessment is that?"

Zhong Yue frowned and asked Xin Huo. Xin Huo yawned. "How would I know? I only know that before I fell asleep, there was no Great Wilderness. This place was ruled by your Fuxi Divine Clan and the other divine clans. Who would have thought that after I woke up, I found that the Fuxi Divine Clan had all become the Human race? Even I want to know what happened during that period..."

Beast God Ridge was a sight of mountain ranges rising in dense ranks, like sharp swords stabbing into the sky. It was perilous beyond compare. Such a dangerous place was entirely devoid of human habitation, and only outside Beast God Ridge were there Human race tribes. Within Beast God Ridge, however, Demonic Beasts were everywhere. All kinds of Demonic Beasts treated it as a paradise where they bred and lived. Human race tribes occasionally came to hunt, but they only operated around the outskirts.

There were simply too many Demonic Beasts in the depths of Beast God Ridge, and very few people dared enter.

Yet at that moment, more than twenty Sword Gate Upper Academy disciples were traveling through the deepest parts of Beast God Ridge. They summoned soul weapons one after another to search for Demonic Beasts, and whenever they encountered one, they slew it with a single sword strike.

"Senior Brother Han, something isn't right here. There seem to be far fewer Demonic Beasts, but every one of them is extremely powerful!"

The more than twenty disciples summoned their soul weapons and fought repeatedly. At last, they slew a demonic ox.

The demonic ox's strength was astonishing. Its hide was so tough that even soul weapons could not easily pierce it. The group had expended a tremendous amount of effort before finally killing it.

The ox's corpse was as large as a small mountain. Standing atop it, the group gazed into the distance and saw miasma filling Beast God Ridge, resembling clusters of enormous pink mushrooms.

A young disciple looked around, frowning slightly as he said to the Senior Brother Han at the head, "Senior Brother, something really is wrong. This demonic ox was extraordinarily powerful. In a place like Beast God Ridge, there have never been Demonic Beasts this strong!"

Someone beside him laughed. "Junior Brother, you're worrying too much. Senior Brother Han is the foremost among the male disciples of our Upper Academy. What kind of situation has he never seen? Even Zhongshan Clan and Shuitu Clan are nothing but clowns in Senior Brother Han's eyes, unworthy of the grand stage!"

That Senior Brother Han was indeed the foremost among the Upper Academy's male disciples, as famous as Yu Feiyan. Hearing this, he smiled gently. "Senior Brother Shui Qinghe does possess some ability. His strength may even surpass mine. As for Zhongshan Clan, though, it is still lacking in experience."

Suddenly, the miasma ahead began to drift. Beneath the pink miasma, a young girl slowly walked toward them. Strangely enough, the girl was dressed entirely in pink, and she held a wisp of miasma in her hand. It was thick at the top and thin at the bottom, like the handle of an umbrella or the stem of a mushroom. The umbrella-shaped miasma blocked their view, making it impossible to see the girl's appearance.

Judging from her graceful figure, however, she was probably no more than fourteen or fifteen, at the tender age of budding youth.

"Junior Sister, be careful! That is miasma, and it is highly poisonous!"

A male disciple hurriedly shouted, "Come out from beneath it at once!"

"Wait. Something is strange!"

Senior Brother Han's expression changed slightly as he said in a low voice, "In a place like the heart of Beast God Ridge, even we had difficulty forcing our way in, let alone a young woman. We should retreat quickly..."

"Retreat? Where do you think you can retreat to?"

Laughter came from beneath the great miasma umbrella. The young girl giggled. "Human race, the most delicious blood food in the Great Wilderness. It's been such a long time since I last ate any..."

"Retreat!"

Senior Brother Han roared. Everyone immediately summoned their soul weapons, leaped swiftly from the ox corpse, and fled.

The great miasma umbrella suddenly dispersed. Beneath it was indeed a young girl, but her neck was more than three zhang long, and a huge snake head grew from it. She was a Human-faced Snake!

The Human-faced Snake spoke in a young girl's voice and laughed. "I already told you that none of you would get away, but you refused to believe me!"

Whoosh—

Her neck lengthened in the wind. From beneath the clothes covering her neck, a snake body surged out, growing longer and thicker, while her head grew larger as well. In an instant, the snake head became as huge as a small mountain and shot forward like lightning, swallowing four Sword Gate disciples in a single bite!

"This snake demon is on the verge of becoming a Qi Practitioner. There can't be such a vicious creature in Beast God Ridge. It must be an outsider from the Demonic Race!"

Senior Brother Han shouted angrily, "Offer up your soul weapons and hold it back for a moment. As long as we escape this place, we'll be fine!"

The remaining Upper Academy disciples urged their soul weapons into action and hacked at the great snake. Soul weapons struck its head and its seven-inch vital point, sending sparks flying, yet they failed to injure her in the slightest.

"Foolish humans, you actually dared to recklessly summon your soul weapons—and such low-grade soul weapons at that. Don't you know you are courting death?"

The great snake giggled and opened her mouth to spray venom. The venom fell like rain. Wherever it splashed onto the soul weapons, thick green smoke immediately rose, and in the blink of an eye they were corroded into a thousand holes.

One scream after another rang out. The souls offered into the soul weapons were touched by the venom as well. The souls shrieked before turning into wisps of green smoke.

Plop, plop. Senior Brother Han and the others swayed unsteadily before suddenly collapsing one after another.

"They're all dead. These humans are so weak. No wonder we and the other races treat them as food."

The great snake retracted her snake neck and returned to normal. She shook her head, then suddenly laughed. "Senior Brothers, do you want some too? Little Sister can share a couple of humans with you."

"Hmph, who cares?"

A burly man as massive as an iron tower strode over and sneered. "If I want to eat humans, I'll catch them myself. There are plenty of Human race tribes outside Beast God Ridge. Last time, I charged into a village and feasted to my heart's content!"

The man stood more than two zhang tall. He wore a thick fur cloak, dense hair covered his chest, and a bear head grew from his neck, its mouth filled with sharp teeth.

"I was still a step too late and let Junior Sister She get to them first."

Another person came over, striding swiftly. He had a goat's head and quickly reached the two of them, laughing. "Senior Brother Bear, you don't know this, but Junior Sister She invited us out of kindness. These people are different from ordinary humans. Ordinary human flesh is tough and dry, and it turns to paste when chewed. These fellows, however, have cultivated before. Their muscles are firm, with plenty of bite, and their taste is excellent. If put up for sale in a market, they would certainly fetch a handsome price!"

Junior Sister She nodded and laughed. "Human Qi Practitioners are especially valuable. Last time, at the gathering of the myriad races in Xiankong City, I saw someone selling Human race Qi Practitioners. At that price, even selling you wouldn't be enough to buy one!"

The Black Bear was greatly tempted. "I heard that everyone in the Sword Gate is a Human race Qi Practitioner..."

"Don't even think about it!"

Junior Sister She sneered. "The Sword Gate has guarded the Great Wilderness for ten thousand years, and its strength is truly terrifying. Let alone the fact that you aren't a Qi Practitioner yet—even if you were one, you would die without even a bear whip left if you tried to scheme against the Sword Gate! Senior Brother Goat, am I right?"

Senior Brother Goat nodded and laughed. "We came this time to accompany our master in searching for the treasure of Beast God Ridge. If Sword Gate disciples come looking for us, we can eat them, but we absolutely must not set our sights on the Sword Gate. Once our master finds that treasure, we'll leave at once! The Sword Gate's strength is extraordinary. Many great powers outside want to swallow the Great Wilderness, yet none have succeeded to this day. That shows how unfathomable the Sword Gate is."

Senior Brother Bear nodded and said in his deep, booming voice, "Before we leave, I'm going to gather up some humans and take them outside to sell!"

Junior Sister She suddenly turned her head toward the sky and said in a low voice, "Someone else is coming! Eh? This time there are three groups. We don't need to fight over them now. You and I will each handle one group. Senior Brothers, remember this: kill every last one of them. Don't let a single person escape. Otherwise, if we alert the Sword Gate, it will ruin Master's great undertaking!"

Senior Brother Goat and Senior Brother Bear nodded and scattered in different directions.

Junior Sister She stuck out a long tongue from the corner of her mouth and sped toward Cloud Canvas, which carried Zhong Yue, Tao Daier, and the others. She muttered, "I hope Master finds that treasure soon. If this drags on too long, I'm afraid the Sword Gate's next visitors won't be these little fellows, but Qi Practitioners..."