The Heavenly Devil Calamity / The Black Robed Person ...

Following the pattern of the previous volumes, the title of this volume should be revealed. "Strange Yet Inhuman, White Bird Snow Hidden". I wanted to write about more people in the last two chapters, but writing too many would make it seem disjointed, so I'll leave it as it is.

Finally, let me correct a mistake: Cultural Festival – I honestly don't know if this is how it's supposed to be done; it was just written this way for the sake of plot development.

Alright, that's all for now. Next up is the Xuanhui Realm chapter, which also marks the beginning of the brief introduction to the Demon Lord.

Chapter 307 Heavenly Demon Calamity

The word "desolate" is a fitting description of the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

The mountain range where the Heavenly Dragon Sect is located is in the central part of the Xuanhui Realm, right on the front line of the battle against the Heavenly Demons.

After the scourge of the world died, before the living beings had fully recovered, the calamity of the Heavenly Demon arrived.

The demon who had tried to defy the heavens went mad at the moment of his death, forcefully tearing open a hole in the sky, giving those extraterrestrial demons an opportunity to take advantage. Moreover, those celestial demons, who had originally feared the demon, became bolder after seeing him dead.

Thus, turmoil began, and even though Heaven tried its best to save the people, it could not reverse the deteriorating situation.

The south, north, and west of the Xuanhui Realm have been invaded by the Heavenly Demons, and only the east, which was originally dominated by righteous cultivators, remains relatively intact.

The resurrected beings are mostly human, with occasional demonic beasts; all are means by which Heaven resists the Heavenly Demons.

Among the original Nascent Soul cultivators, twelve were favored by the Heavenly Dao and became Enlightened Enlightenment Cultivator, forming the main force against the Heavenly Demons. The Heavenly Dao's suppression of the Heavenly Demons' territory was still in effect. With the addition of these twelve Enlightenment Cultivator, hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators, thousands of Core Formation cultivators, and countless ordinary cultivators below them, they were able to temporarily suppress the two waves of Heavenly Demon calamities that were about to arrive.

These twelve Enlightenment Cultivator were evenly divided between the Demonic Path and righteous paths. In the current state of the world, even the prosperous East could hardly sustain the supply of many cultivators. Therefore, the role of Demonic Path cultivators has become much more prominent. Many of them use the flesh and blood of the Heavenly Demons for personal gain, and many obtain several times the benefit with little effort.

After the infamous Zhang Qiudao, the wicked and evil cultivators were brought together for the first time by the impending cataclysm, to jointly resist the onslaught of the Heavenly Demons. However, the number of Heavenly Demons was immense; even among the many weak and vulnerable, their numbers far exceeded those of the cultivators.

Furthermore, although the Heavenly Dao resurrected countless cultivators, none of them were of low cultivation level, but most of these cultivators were only at the Foundation Establishment stage, just enough for combat. The barriers between sects remained unbroken, with each sect still operating independently. Having lost some of the supplies from the mortal realm, these independent sects also lost their freedom, forcing many cultivators of lower cultivation levels to engage in production. Although their production efficiency far surpassed that of mortals due to their abilities, how many mortals were there, and how many cultivators were there?

If the past extravagance continues, the output will not be able to meet the needs. Therefore, the cultivators nowadays are somewhat bitter and resentful. They hate Zhang Qiudao for his heinous crimes and hate the Heavenly Demon calamity. They then vent this hatred on the Heavenly Demon, which ironically inspires a lot of fighting spirit.

However, the situation of large sects is generally better than that of small sects.

Small sects like the Heavenly Dragon Sect, which are on the verge of decline, have encountered numerous troubles that have greatly annoyed the current sect leader, Meng Tianyu, yet he is powerless to do anything about them.

She's going to die.

According to the rules set by the righteous and demonic cultivators, all cultivators at the Golden Core stage and above are required to go to the Heavenly Devil Battlefield to participate in the battle. Those below the Golden Core stage will not go and can stay in their sect to cultivate or produce.

Meng Tianyu was a cultivator at the late Golden Core stage, and happened to be among the group of cultivators who went to the Heavenly Devil Battlefield. Although he killed many weak Heavenly Demons and made some contributions, he was unfortunately injured by a Spirit Manifestation Heavenly Devil was a level higher than him on the battlefield. He barely escaped death and returned alive from that wave of Heavenly Demon War. However, although he survived, due to the severity of his injuries, he did not have much time left.

For a small sect like the Heavenly Dragon Sect, there are always some twists and turns when the sect leader gets into trouble.

The elders from those sects rushed over to inquire that very day, and by the next day, they had already openly begun vying for power over her as the sect leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Everyone knew she was about to die, so they didn't care about saving face anymore. After all, with the sect leader dead, it was only natural for the Heavenly Dragon Sect to disband, Great Elder would flee with their pack.

Faced with this situation, she felt quite helpless but there was really nothing she could do.

Given the current situation, no one from a major sect would come to handle things for her, and the calamity of the Heavenly Demons would prevent these elders from staying in the Heavenly Dragon Sect to continue working for it.

After all, such a catastrophe is not something a small sect can simply grit its teeth and weather; if it were, it wouldn't be called a catastrophe.

With small sects disbanding, it's common for elite disciples to be brought into larger sects. While larger sects are much more prosperous, they are also short-staffed, lacking the supplies that the vast mortal empires of the past provide. Naturally, someone needs to fill this gap.

In this way, if the Heavenly Demon Catastrophe continues for several months or years, this world will likely only have a few dozen integrated major sects left. These integrated major sects will also have more strength to continue fighting against the Heavenly Demon, which is a good thing.

This is at least true for the major sects.

"Of course I know that, but what difference does it make whether I know or not?"

She stood atop the Heavenly Dragon Sect's mountain, gazing at the desolate landscape below, a sense of desolation washing over her. However, she considered this a tribulation she was destined to endure.

If it weren't for the intervention of Heaven, these Golden Core cultivators, and even those below that level, would have remained unaware of how they died, nor of what had transpired in this world. By the time they learned what had happened, they would have owed Heaven a life.

They were executed for the sake of Heaven's will, and this is why Heaven resurrected their lives. Therefore, their deaths were worthwhile and not unjust.

As she pondered this, the injury to her abdomen suddenly worsened, causing her to cough involuntarily, spitting out a lot of blood from her throat.

"Cough cough..."

Once her cough subsided a little, she looked at her injuries. Only today did she realize that even Golden Core cultivators could die so easily.

The number of cultivators in the Xuanhui Realm is considerable, but most of them are Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the higher the level, the fewer there are. However, with such a large base, the number won't be too small. There are many Nascent Soul cultivators, and the Heavenly Dao has reserved thirty-two seats for Enlightenment Cultivator.

These cultivators possess long lifespans and extraordinary strength. Just like the top-tier Golden Core cultivators, they can change the weather and shape of the earth with a wave of their hand.

Meng Tianyu may not be able to do that, but her strength is not insignificant either; at least, she could split mountains and seas with a full-force attack.

However, on the battlefield of the Heavenly Demons, Yue-yi Erling Eryi Sanling Ba Yi's cultivation was actually restricted by more than half.

The large number of Golden Core cultivators entering the battlefield should have resulted in a chaotic massacre, since three or four people working together could hit millions of Heavenly Demons, and most of them should have died. However, this was not the case. The massive number of Heavenly Demons gave rise to a strange suppression that limited the damage of the cultivators' techniques, while the cultivators also had a large formation to suppress the damage from the Heavenly Demons, so the lower the cultivation level, the more severe the suppression.

In addition, not most cultivators can maintain an inexhaustible supply of spiritual energy within their bodies, and they always need to absorb external spiritual energy to recover. When many cultivators are crowded together, the amount of spiritual energy they can absorb becomes scarce, which greatly reduces their endurance.

As a result, cultivators who usually do not pay attention to physical training are unable to unleash their full potential on such a vast Heavenly Devil Battlefield, having never encountered such a scene before.

While there is cooperation among cultivators in forming formations, it usually involves three or four people, or at most six or seven. Formations involving dozens or even hundreds of people are unique to major sects. For many cultivators, they either work in teams of three or four, or fight alone.

As for legion warfare, it is clear that they lacked this awareness.

Chapter 308 The Black Robed Person

Because they lacked awareness of legion warfare, their first battle after resurrection was extremely difficult, and things only got much better in the second battle.

Meng Tianyu participated in two battles in succession. The first battle resulted in a crushing retreat, with the battle line being stretched to the doorstep of her Heavenly Dragon Sect. In the second battle, the battle line finally retreated because a powerful figure intervened.

However, such a powerful figure's intervention had nothing to do with her.

On the Heavenly Devil Battlefield, she was merely a slightly higher-ranking soldier, not even a general.

The twelve Enlightenment Cultivator are the key to winning this battle, while the Nascent Soul cultivators below them are the true masters of the battlefield.

Let's return to the matter of the Heavenly Dragon Sect and her current predicament.

Deep down, Meng Tianyu had anticipated how things would unfold, but she felt somewhat saddened when the reality hit.

Her lineage does have no shortage of personally taught disciples with considerable cultivation levels. For example, her current eldest disciple is already in the late stage of Core Formation and is about to enter the Golden Core stage, and there are also several disciples in the mid-to-late stage of Core Formation. However, these disciples, like herself, have always been people of quiet cultivation and have never considered matters of power struggles. After all, there was really no need to consider it before; the Heavenly Dragon Sect was just a small sect, where would there be so much trouble?

As long as the sect leader's cultivation level is high enough, many things can be negotiated, and she was such a representative. According to the pre-arranged plan, one of her disciples should have reached the Golden Core stage and taken over the position of sect leader before she died. But... things often develop unexpectedly.

"This is a sign that Heaven is going to destroy our little sect!"

She sighed. When you're about to die, your mind works much faster. Even though she was originally a quiet cultivator, she could still discern some of the intentions behind power struggles and saw through the ways of Heaven. But there was nothing she could do about it. She wasn't the only one who could see through the ways of Heaven; it was just an open and aboveboard scheme because they had no choice but to do it.

Powerful external forces are squeezing the cultivators' original comfort zone, causing them to gradually integrate in the midst of infighting and external wars, until they are truly able to cope with this calamity. And all of this started because of Zhang Qiudao.

Even though they were both from the Demonic Path, the Demonic Path cultivators hated Zhang Qiudao so much that they wanted to skin him alive and suck his blood, and they would torture him until they were satisfied. As for the righteous cultivators, those major sects had long regarded Zhang Qiudao as the number one Great Demon in the world, and gave him a long list of unpleasant names to curse him.

Despite the cursing, we still need to figure out how to get through this ordeal.

Looking once more at the desolate landscape beneath her feet, Meng Tianyu withdrew her thoughts and prepared to return to the sect. She wanted to see if she could persuade the elders to bring their personal disciples to the main sect. These disciples were quite capable; they shouldn't be sent to become cannon fodder.

However, just as she took a step, she suddenly looked behind her and Spiritual Sense that someone had silently arrived behind her.

Who is it?!

She roared, already drawing her Magic Treasure and channeling her spiritual energy, ready to deliver a fatal blow. The Heavenly Demon Tribulation was still ongoing, and many more Heavenly Demons had infiltrated the East to wreak havoc in the Second Heavenly Devil Battlefield; who knew if the one standing before her was one of them?

However, this gesture was merely to intimidate the man; her other hand had already reached for the communication talisman, intending to—

I'll save your life.

The person, completely shrouded in a black robe, emitted a hoarse, inhuman sound; the expression beneath the hood, obscuring their face, was unknown.

Meng Tianyu had originally intended to call for help, but upon hearing these words, she suddenly hesitated, and the communication talisman in her hand loosened its grip slightly.

What are you talking about?

"... medicine."

The Black Robed Person didn't intend to say anything more. He slightly raised his sleeve and tossed a small pill in front of her. Because of his control over spiritual energy, he wasn't worried that the pill would fall to the ground.

When the white jade-colored pill was tossed into the air, Meng Tianyu hesitated only slightly before putting down the Magic Treasure in her hand to catch the pill with her bare hand, her eyes warily fixed on the Black Robed Person in the distance.

"Detoxification."

"Poison?"

"A non-fatal illness, the Heavenly Demon Poison."

The Black Robed Person spoke briefly, and his language was rather strange, as if he had just learned to speak—stiff and cold, though it could be a deliberate act.

Meng Tianyu, having received the pill, quickly understood the meaning behind its words.

"You mean the injuries on my body are caused by the poison of the Heavenly Demon?"

She knew her own situation; Golden Core cultivators were indeed not so easy to kill. Ordinary physical injuries, even those that ruptured internal organs, could allow them to survive for a long time. Therefore, dealing with Golden Core cultivators and above usually involved using special methods to disrupt their bodily functions, making their injuries impossible to heal normally. Meng Tianyu originally thought that her injuries were like this, and that she could not recover unless Enlightenment Realm Soul cultivator intervened.

But judging from what the Black Robed Person said, that didn't seem to be the case.

"... the transaction allows me to rest undisturbed."

Looking at the pill in her hand and then at the Black Robed Person Eye-Eye, Meng Tianyu hesitated. But she quickly realized that she seemed to have no other choice; she had missed the best opportunity to send a message.

If she doesn't agree, things won't be good. Because of her injuries, most of her cultivation has been destroyed. If she forcibly uses her spiritual energy now, the best outcome will be to hasten her death, turning what could have been a ten-day or so injury into a death sentence today.

She should have been resting today, but because Golden Core cultivators are physically strong, she decided to come out to look around the mountain and relieve the pressure that had been building up in her heart.

So he gritted his teeth and swallowed the white jade-colored pill in his mouth, giving up resisting the Black Robed Person.

Little did she know that her actions also relieved the Black Robed Person standing in front of her. He silently watched Meng Tianyu swallow the pill, hoping that his plan would succeed.

She had been in the Xuanhui Realm for several days, but because of her appearance, she only dared to hide, not even daring to release her Spiritual Sense. She only had a vague understanding of the affairs of the Xuanhui Realm, only knowing that the cultivators of the Xuanhui Realm were fighting against the Heavenly Demons. Therefore, she became even more cautious in her actions, only hoping to find a safe haven for the time being. After all, the mutation was already quite serious, and she wondered if it was because she was getting closer and closer to the mutated original body.

Not only was his physical form distorted, but his soul was also affected, so his entire body was filled with the aura of a celestial demon, as was his Spiritual Sense. Widely spreading his Spiritual Sense was tantamount to telling others that a celestial demon had invaded the area, and he would definitely be ganged up on and beaten.

To be honest, being ganged up on and dying were one thing, but before her consciousness faded, she still wanted to live a few more days, preferably to find the source of the mutation before she died.

Seeing Meng Tianyu's injuries healed, Yotsuya Miko slowly breathed a sigh of relief. Although it was despicable, she had no choice but to poison the pills to ensure that the other party would keep her promise.

Chapter 309 The Theory of True Spirit

What does parting feel like?

Yotsuya Miko felt lost, as if she were simply passing the time before death.

She understood so much, and finally entered into an indescribable emotional state.

The Small World and the Xuanhui Realm, her and Zhang Qiudao, the World Consciousness and the Heavenly Demon.

After reaching the state of Nascent Soul Stage, she finally understood those schemes and strange occurrences.

She now knew what Zhang Qiudao was plotting: this guy wasn't actually dead, but rather he was using his supposed death to pass on his legacy to experiment on her.

An experiment to contend between World Consciousness and the power of the two demons.

Her eyes were originally part of the World Consciousness, possessing a portion of the world's authority. It was because of this power that she was chosen by Zhang Qiudao. After cultivating a series of techniques and methods, such as the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record and the Heavenly Devil False Body True Understanding, the power of the Heavenly Demon also manifested in her body, thus conducting a contest and observation between the two sides.

Moreover, compared to the Xuanhui Realm, she, as a person from a small world, has an advantage as an experimental vessel—she is not a complete human.

Or rather, none of the people in this small world are purely human.

The small world is on the path of transforming the fake into the real; otherwise, such a barren world could not have given birth to such a large number of humans.

These people, who lack innate spiritual energy compared to the humans of the Xuanhui Realm, maintain their "life" through the existence of Life Energy. Once Life Energy is lost, they will transform into Ghosts symbolizing "death." Therefore, in such a small world, there is no concept of reincarnation, but rather a process of "life" turning into "death" and then "death" turning into nothingness.

This explains why such a world, lacking spiritual energy, could sustain a vast number of Ghosts and give rise to extraordinary beings who wield Spiritual Power. Its very foundation is unique; that small world relies on the Xuanhui Realm and is formed from fragments of the Xuanhui Realm's Nine Nether Netherworlds. Naturally, it is suitable for Ghosts to exist, and Life Energy gives these Ghosts a "living" appearance.

They cannot transform into each other; they can only "live" and "die." As for the "living," it follows the normal laws of reproduction and is defined by the rules of heaven and earth. It is a unique aspect of Life Energy, but ultimately it is based on "death."

What that small world needs to do is continue to develop itself until it can elevate its Life Energy to a level that can truly give birth to beings like the human race of the Xuanhui Realm.

Before it could do this, it had to rely on the Xuanhui Realm to extract resources for the world's use. The current large number of "living" people is the result of its long-term extraction and development. This is also why its "death" is essentially the same as that of the Ghosts in the Xuanhui Realm — the Ghosts of these small worlds are simply copies of the Ghosts in the Xuanhui Realm.

In short, whether it's her, Yuria, Hua, or even her own mother and brother, they are all just ghosts with human-like forms. According to the cultivators of the Xuanhui Realm, that's pretty much the case.

This is why her destruction of those Gate of the Underworld triggered a backlash from the World Consciousness. This action severed the source of this small world, causing it to stagnate and eventually decline due to its failure to find the right path after a long period of trial and error, much like the Xuanhui Realm during Zhang Qiudao's lifetime.

Therefore, she made an agreement with the World Consciousness at the beginning: to build a reincarnation system.

This entire cycle of reincarnation is a technique she created. This technique gradually extracts spiritual energy from "death," that is, from the Ghosts and spirits in those small worlds. This spiritual energy has different characteristics from Life Energy.

These spiritual energies are gentle and can nourish all things. When a person who cultivates such a technique dies, the spiritual energy in their body dissipates and returns to the earth, where it will be completely absorbed by the world. This avoids situations like the Kamikakushi Mountain, where there is spiritual energy but it cannot be absorbed, and people can only absorb it through Ghosts and then kill the Ghosts.

The rule of "life" transforming into "death" will ensure that Ghosts will never cease to exist; as long as there are people, there will be Ghosts. However, in the future, Ghosts will be less common while people will be more numerous, and that situation will only occur after the small world has advanced.

The essence of this reincarnation system is to transform the resources that the small world has extracted from the Xuanhui Realm into its own foundation in a more efficient way. Once the small world advances, it will no longer need to rely on the Xuanhui Realm but can instead extract chaotic energy from the void. At that time, the reincarnation system will not disappear but will continue to be preserved as part of the world, transforming the objects into chaotic energy.

This reincarnation system was proposed by Yotsuya Miko, while the World Consciousness wanted to completely erase her from that world, taking those eyes with her.

However, she did some subtle manipulation when erasing her existence, placing her younger brother, Yotsuya Kyosuke, in an important role within the proposed reincarnation system. It was a backup plan, but it's uncertain whether it will actually work.

If the 2-3 zero-private investigation of the neon umbrella silk doesn't work... then there's nothing more to say.

She sighed and rested quietly in the secret room that Meng Tianyu had prepared.

Cultivators at the Golden Core stage have already reached the point of abstaining from grains, and cultivators like her who have mutated into demons are even more devoid of worldly desires. Although she has not severed her seven emotions and six desires, nor has she severed her five senses, she has far fewer feelings than ordinary people.