Light of Taichu

Chapter 26: Light of Taichu

Two demon clouds tore through the sky as the Hedgehog Demon King led He Yu toward the canyon. It was not far from the Hedgehog village, and at the speed of their demon clouds, even a hedgehog could reach it in a short time.

Mountain peak after mountain peak passed beneath their feet. Looking down, one could see towering summits, thousands of flowers and trees, flowing waterfalls, secluded springs, and strange, jagged rocks—an endless display of natural wonders. Under He Yu's powerful senses, he could faintly perceive the figures of countless spirit beasts: cranes soaring and crying, spirit apes playing and singing, and herds of deer running joyfully. The variety was vast, and many were creatures He Yu had never seen in his past life, such as saber-toothed tigers and flying leopards. Yet, these were merely animals with a slight spark of intelligence, possessing not a shred of demon qi within them.

To think that I was once one of them! He felt a deep sense of emotion. In less than a year, He Yu had transformed from an ordinary little crab into a supreme Demon King ruling over the Primordial World. The gap between then and now was truly as vast as heaven and earth.

However, He Yu also knew that he could only become a master of the Primordial World because the innate gods and the descendants of Pangu had yet to emerge. Thinking of the might of those great deities from mythology made his scalp tingle. Not to mention the Heavenly Dao Saints who stood above all living beings, or the Heavenly Dao Hongjun himself—even the ordinary gods were at a realm currently far beyond his reach.

Kuafu chasing the sun, Hou Yi shooting down the suns, Dijun bathing in the sun by the East Sea... which of these was not an earth-shattering event? They could truly move mountains and overturn rivers with a mere wave of their hands!

Sigh! Why think of these things now? It is still far too early for those great deities to appear; they will only emerge one by one during the late era of the Fierce Beasts at the earliest! For now, I must worry about the impending Great Beast Calamity. If I cannot survive that, everything is for naught! He Yu gave a secret, bitter smile. He truly lacked confidence in facing this great calamity; after all, he had to confront the aura of the Chaos Gods and Devils. Although it was only a trace of their aura, the crux of the matter was that his own cultivation was too low.

Peak of the late Golden Core stage!

And it was an imperfect Golden Core at that. His only advantage now was quantity; he possessed twenty-five Demon Cores. Even if their essence was inferior to a true Great Dao Golden Core, their sheer number made them incredibly powerful, certainly stronger than the early Primordial Spirit stage.

If I can find the earth vein this time and absorb the Earthly Baleful Qi to strengthen my spikes, my chances of dealing with the God and Devil aura while coordinating my powerful demon qi will increase significantly. He Yu pondered. These were only superficial methods, but at this point, every little bit of strength helped. Cultivating a Primordial Spirit was as difficult as ascending to heaven, and forcing it with an imperfect Golden Core would lead to grave consequences later, even if he succeeded.

"Great King, the Golden Radiance Region is just ahead." The Hedgehog's voice interrupted He Yu's thoughts. He immediately focused his gaze and saw a massive canyon appearing at the edge of his vision. Two mountains stood apart, winding and jagged, with torrents surging through them. The water roared like thunder, spray flew into the sky, and the water vapor rose in white mist—it was truly a treacherous place!

What a dangerous canyon! It is a hundred times more perilous than the Yangtze Gorges of my past life! But why can I not see a single glimmer of gold? He Yu did not care about the canyon itself. Times had changed; not to mention his cultivation, the toughness of his demon body was such that even ordinary rocket launchers could not damage it in the slightest. What he cared about now was the earth vein!

"Great King, the Golden Radiance Region lies deep within the canyon, inside the mountain itself. It is extremely well-hidden, with only one small path leading in and out. My subordinate and the Violent Crocodile Demon King only discovered it by accident." Seeing He Yu's confusion, the Hedgehog hurriedly explained.

"Lead the way!" He did not want to waste any more time; he did not have the luxury of squandering it.

"Yes!" The Hedgehog descended his demon cloud, heading into the canyon above the fierce, surging torrents. Many sharp waves crashed toward them, but they were blocked by his demon qi, having no effect at all. While the power of nature was great, it was not enough to affect the Golden Core stage here.

Following along, they occasionally passed through craggy mountain caves. Many of the paths were extremely narrow, and He Yu's massive demon body could only just squeeze through. If not for someone leading the way, he would certainly never have found these routes.

They gradually delved deep into the canyon, entering the belly of the mountain on one side.

As soon as he entered the mountain's interior, He Yu felt a burst of golden light so dazzling that he could not open his eyes. Only after circulating his demon qi to protect his vision could he faintly see the surrounding walls, the stalactites above, and the spirit milk springs on the ground. These spirit milks, which gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, were considered rare treasures, but to the current He Yu, they were not even worth a glance.

The interior of the mountain was vast, spanning twenty miles in all directions, filled to the brim with golden light. In the center, an area of ten miles was covered in golden radiance that looked almost tangible. At the mere sight of this golden light, He Yu's heart jolted. He felt an indescribable sensation; this golden light felt a hundred, a thousand times more precious than the Earthly Baleful Qi. But what exactly was it? He racked his brains, but had not the slightest clue.

"Great King!" The Hedgehog could see nothing with his eyes now. Having lost his demon qi and Demon Core, even though his demon body was as tough as a mid-stage Golden Core, he could no longer use demon qi to protect his eyes.

"Go forward and touch that golden light for this King!" Without knowing the truth, the best method was to let someone else test it first. Once he understood whether the golden light was harmful and to what degree, He Yu could decide what to do.

"Ah? This...!" Hearing He Yu's command, the Hedgehog was terrified. The previous Earthly Baleful Qi had already cost him his Demon Core, and his consciousness had become fused with his body. If the golden light were even more potent, wouldn't he be dead for sure?

"With this King here, what are you afraid of? Go!" He Yu coldly scolded. He was merely a demon king about to vanish; if he were sensible, He Yu wouldn't mind letting him live until the God and Devil aura descended. If he were not sensible, he would force him to test the golden light now and then destroy him.

He could count it as the Hedgehog's merit for leading the way; otherwise, He Yu would have acted himself and wouldn't have bothered with idle talk.

"Great King, subordinate, subordinate...!" The Hedgehog wanted to plead further, but he felt a terrifying, sharp demon aura radiating from He Yu. Within this aura, he clearly sensed killing intent, and he knew that if he did not follow He Yu's command, his life would be over!

If I don't go, I die for sure. If I go, there is still hope. The Great King has vast supernatural powers; he was able to help me before, so it is very likely he can help me again! The Hedgehog weighed the pros and cons in his heart. Of two evils, choose the lesser. Between certain death and possible death, the Hedgehog had no choice but to choose the latter. He slowly moved forward, his large pig hooves reaching out.

Although the Hedgehog could not see, he had seen the golden light not long ago, so he naturally knew the direction.

Watching the Hedgehog gradually approach the golden light, He Yu's mind was completely tense. He watched intently, his demon qi surging within his body, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

Whoosh!

As the Hedgehog came within three feet of the golden light region, a pillar of pitch-black gas the size of a bowl suddenly blasted out from the region—it was the Earthly Baleful Qi. Seeing the pillar of Earthly Baleful Qi moving with incredible speed and about to strike the Hedgehog, He Yu, who had been prepared, swung his giant pincer. A cyan pillar of demon qi tore through the void, carrying a sharp, eerie whistle as it slammed into the Earthly Baleful Qi pillar, instantly scattering it.

The Hedgehog was well aware of the commotion beside him and trembled all over. He Yu's voice rang out in his mind at the perfect moment: "Move forward!"

Under He Yu's pressure, the Hedgehog had no choice but to step forward, slowly approaching the golden light region. During this process, pillars of Earthly Baleful Qi were constantly shot out from the region, but they were all scattered by He Yu's swinging demon qi pillars. The Hedgehog successfully reached the golden light, and his pair of hooves slowly touched it. At that moment, He Yu pushed his senses to the limit, staring fixedly at the Hedgehog's hooves while simultaneously swinging his demon qi pillars to disperse the incoming Earthly Baleful Qi.

"Eh?" He was stunned with surprise. He saw the Hedgehog's hooves pass through the golden light without a single thing happening.

"It's fine?" Feeling no resistance and experiencing nothing himself, the Hedgehog was also incredulous. The Earthly Baleful Qi was so terrifying, yet this golden light was as if it were nothing?

Whoosh! Demon qi swept up the Hedgehog, instantly bringing him back to his side. Immediately after, He Yu tightened his demon qi, and the Hedgehog fainted and collapsed to the ground. He was about to enter the golden light region himself; if any unexpected changes occurred that caused a massive drain on his strength, he couldn't guarantee the Hedgehog wouldn't harbor ulterior motives once he came out. It was better for him to lie there for a while.

"I am doing this for your own good! If not for the fact that you led me here, I would have killed you long ago. But it is only a matter of time anyway; you won't live to see the Great Beast Calamity. And what of the Violent Crocodile Demon King?" He Yu sneered at the Hedgehog lying on the ground and moved his six legs toward the golden light region.

As he approached within three feet, another pillar of Earthly Baleful Qi attacked. Facing this, He Yu simply swung his giant pincer, his demon qi coating the pincer, and with a single strike, he scattered the baleful qi. He then began to absorb the Earthly Baleful Qi permeating the air around him to strengthen his spikes.

Time passed continuously. Pillar after pillar of Earthly Baleful Qi was scattered by He Yu, while his spikes were constantly absorbing the qi to grow stronger.

After using the Earthly Baleful Qi to strengthen all four hundred and eighty million of his spikes by twofold, He Yu stopped the reinforcement and walked into the golden light region. It was dazzling, feeling almost tangible. Once he entered, his eyes could no longer see anything—there was only gold, nothing but gold.

Bang! A loud explosion sounded three inches in front of him, and a massive force struck him, causing He Yu to stumble back half a step. It was his Earthly Baleful Demon Qi shield, formed by the power of his spikes and his internal demon qi, that had resisted the blast of the Earthly Baleful Qi pillar.

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

As he went deeper, more and more pillars of Earthly Baleful Qi slammed into him, but with his Earthly Baleful Demon Qi shield, he suffered no damage.

Strange? Why are these Earthly Baleful Qi able to attack intruders? Could it be that they have sentience? He pondered, puzzled, while accelerating his speed toward the center of the region. Since he knew the golden light had no effect, he did not need to be overly cautious. Although the Earthly Baleful Qi was sharp, it could not harm He Yu, especially since his shield was mixed with the same qi, causing the effects of the attacks to be largely neutralized.

Deepening his path, enduring hundreds and thousands of strikes from the Earthly Baleful Qi pillars, He Yu finally reached the center of the Golden Radiance Region. Upon arriving, his vision cleared. Although the golden light remained dazzling, he could see clearly. The area of three to four hundred meters in the center of the region was visible. He saw a golden light orb the size of a winnowing basket floating ten feet in the air at the center. Surrounding it was a giant, three zhang tall. The giant was formed from Earthly Baleful Qi; it had no face, and its entire body was formless, as if it were not solid at all.

Is this the Source of Earthly Fiend? To think it has actually formed a living being! That golden light orb seems to be the heart of the region's golden radiance. What on earth is it? He Yu pondered repeatedly.

"Roar! Stealing the Light of Taichu... die!" The Earthly Fiend Giant roared sluggishly.

Light of Taichu? What is that? But it must be a good thing! I must take it. And this giant is also a treasure! The Source of Earthly Fiend? Heh, I cannot let it go to waste. He Yu thought to himself.