Light of Taichu

Chapter 26: Light of Taichu

Two clouds of demonic mist tore through the sky. The Hedgehog Demon King led He Yu toward the canyon, which was not far from Hedgehog Village. Riding on demonic clouds, even a hedgehog could reach it in no time.

Mountain peaks swept past beneath them. Looking down, He Yu saw towering ranges, thousands of trees and flowers, flowing streams and waterfalls, secluded springs and little brooks, strange peaks and bizarre rocks... The natural wonders were endless. With his powerful senses, he could also make out countless spirit beasts: cranes soared through the sky, crying out; spirit apes played and sang; herds of deer ran merrily... There was an astonishing variety, and many were beasts He Yu had never seen in his previous life, such as saber-toothed tigers and flying leopards. Yet these were merely animals with a little spiritual awareness, not a trace of demonic aura in their bodies.

"To think I was once one of them!" He Yu sighed with deep emotion. In less than a year, he had gone from an ordinary little crab to an unrivaled Demon King who ruled the Primordial World. The difference between the two was as vast as heaven and earth!

Still, He Yu knew that he could become the ruler of the Primordial World only because the Innate Deities and the Descendants of Pangu had yet to appear. Just thinking of the might of those great gods from mythology made his scalp tingle. Never mind the Heavenly Dao Sage who stood above all living beings, or Heavenly Dao Hongjun—even ordinary deities were already beyond anything he could hope to reach!

Kuafu chasing the sun, Hou Yi Shoots the Suns, Dijun bathing the suns by the East Sea... Every one of those was an earth-shaking feat! They truly could move mountains and turn rivers upside down with the lift of a hand!

"Alas! Why am I thinking about all this now? Those great gods won't appear for a long time. They won't emerge one after another until at least the latter part of the Era of Ferocious Beasts! For now, I should worry about the Great Beast Calamity right in front of me. If I can't survive it, then everything is over!" He Yu gave a bitter inward smile. He truly had no confidence in surviving this calamity. After all, he would have to face the aura of Chaos God-Devils. It was only an aura, but the real problem was that his cultivation was too weak.

At the peak of the late Golden Core stage!

And his Golden Cores weren't even complete. His only advantage was sheer numbers: he had twenty-five Demon Cores. Though they couldn't match genuine Great Dao Golden Cores in quality, their quantity still made them tremendously powerful—definitely stronger than someone in the early Primordial Spirit stage.

"Once we find the leyline, I'll absorb Earthly Baleful Qi to strengthen all my spines. Then, with my powerful demonic aura, I'll have a much better chance of facing the aura of those gods and devils." He Yu considered the matter. These were only superficial measures, but for now, every little bit of strength helped! Cultivating a Primordial Spirit was as difficult as reaching the heavens. And if he forced it before his Golden Cores were complete, even if he succeeded, it would bring no end of trouble later.

"Great King, the Golden Radiance Region is just ahead." The hedgehog's voice interrupted He Yu's thoughts. He immediately fixed his gaze ahead. At the far edge of his sight, a gigantic canyon came into view. Two mountains stood apart on either side, their slopes winding and rugged, while torrents roared through the gorge, their waters crashing with thunderous force. Waves leaped into the air, and white mist rose from the spray. It was a truly perilous place!

"What a treacherous canyon! It's more than a hundred times more dangerous than the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River from my previous life! But why can't I see a trace of golden light?" He Yu didn't care much about the canyon itself. Things were different now. Setting aside his cultivation, his demonic body was so tough that even an ordinary rocket launcher couldn't damage him in the slightest. What he cared about now was the leyline!

"Great King, the Golden Radiance Region is deep inside the canyon, hidden within the mountains. It's incredibly well concealed, and there's only one narrow path in and out. Violent Crocodile and I discovered it by accident." Seeing He Yu's confusion, the hedgehog hurriedly explained.

"Lead the way." He didn't want to waste any more time. He couldn't afford to squander it.

"Yes!" The hedgehog lowered his demonic cloud and flew into the canyon above the raging torrent. Many fierce waves crashed toward them, but the demonic aura blocked them without any effect. The forces of nature were immense, but this stretch of water wasn't powerful enough to affect someone at the Golden Core stage.

They followed the canyon deeper, passing through many craggy mountain caves. Several stretches were extremely narrow, and even He Yu's massive demonic body could barely squeeze through. Without someone to lead him, he would never have found these paths.

Gradually, they ventured farther into the canyon and entered the mountainside.

As soon as He Yu entered the mountainside, dazzling golden light filled his vision, making it impossible to open his eyes. Only after he circulated his demonic aura to shield them could he make out the surrounding rock walls, the stalactites above, and the spirit-milk springs on the ground. These springs, which gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, were rare treasures, but they were beneath He Yu's notice now.

The interior of the mountainside was enormous, stretching about twenty li in every direction. It was filled to the brim with golden light. In the center, a region about ten li across was covered in golden radiance so dense it seemed almost solid. The moment He Yu saw it, his heart shuddered. He felt something he couldn't put into words. This golden radiance seemed a hundred, even a thousand times more precious than Earthly Baleful Qi, but no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Great King!" The hedgehog's eyes were unable to see anything. He had lost his demonic aura and Demon Core. Although his demonic body was as strong as one at the mid-Golden Core stage, he could no longer use demonic aura to shield his eyes.

"Go over there and touch that golden radiance for me!" Since he didn't know what it was, the best thing to do was have someone else test it first. Once He Yu knew whether the golden radiance was harmful and, if so, how dangerous it was, he could decide what to do.

"What? This..." The hedgehog was terrified by He Yu's command. The Earthly Baleful Qi had already cost him his Demon Core, and his consciousness had fused with his body. If the golden radiance was even more dangerous, wouldn't he be doomed?

"With me here, what are you afraid of? Go!" He Yu snapped coldly. This was just a Demon King on the verge of disappearing. If it knew its place, he didn't mind letting it live until the aura of the gods and devils descended. If it didn't, he could force it to test the golden radiance now and then kill it.

Besides, the hedgehog had led him here out of loyalty. Otherwise, He Yu would have done it himself long ago. He wouldn't have bothered wasting his breath.

"Great King, I, I..." The hedgehog tried to plead once more, but then he felt a terrifying, razor-sharp demonic pressure emanating from He Yu. He clearly sensed the killing intent within it and knew that if he disobeyed, his life would be over!

If I refuse, I'll die. If I go, there's still hope. The Great King is immensely powerful. He helped me before, so there's a good chance he'll help me again! The hedgehog weighed the pros and cons. When faced with two evils, he chose the lesser. Between certain death now and possible death later, he could only choose the latter. He slowly moved forward, stretching out his enormous trotters.

The hedgehog couldn't see, but he had seen the golden radiance not long ago, so he still knew which way to go.

As the hedgehog drew closer and closer to the golden radiance, He Yu's mind went taut. He watched intently, demonic aura surging within him, ready to strike at any moment.

Whoosh!

As soon as the hedgehog came within three feet of the Golden Radiance Region, a black pillar of qi as wide as a bowl suddenly blasted out of it. It was Earthly Baleful Qi. The pillar moved so quickly that the hedgehog was about to be hit, but He Yu had been prepared. He swept a huge pincer, and a pillar of cyan demonic aura tore through the air with a sharp, whistling howl and lashed into the Earthly Baleful Qi, instantly dispersing it.

How could the hedgehog not notice the commotion beside him? He shook all over with fright. Just then, He Yu's voice rang out in his mind: "Keep going!"

Under He Yu's pressure, the hedgehog could only take one step after another, slowly approaching the Golden Radiance Region. Pillars of Earthly Baleful Qi kept shooting out from within it, but He Yu swept his demonic-aura pillar back and forth, dispersing every one of them. The hedgehog eventually reached the golden light and slowly brought his trotters closer. He Yu pushed his senses to the limit, staring fixedly at them while continuing to swing his demonic-aura pillar and shatter the Earthly Baleful Qi.

"Huh?" He Yu stared in astonishment. The hedgehog's trotters passed right through the golden radiance, and nothing happened at all.

"Nothing happened?" Feeling no resistance and no change in himself, the hedgehog could hardly believe it. The Earthly Baleful Qi was so terrifying, yet this golden radiance seemed as insubstantial as nothingness?

Whoosh! Demonic aura swept up the hedgehog and whisked him back to He Yu's side. He Yu immediately tightened his aura, and the hedgehog collapsed unconscious. He Yu was about to enter the Golden Radiance Region himself. If something unexpected happened and he was badly weakened, the hedgehog might get some crooked ideas when they came back out. Better to leave him lying there for a while.

I'm doing this for your own good! If you hadn't brought me here, I would have killed you already. But it's only a matter of time anyway. You won't live to see the Great Beast Calamity. And what about Violent Crocodile Demon King? He Yu gave the hedgehog lying on the ground a cold laugh, then strode toward the Golden Radiance Region on six legs.

When he came within three feet of it, another pillar of Earthly Baleful Qi shot toward him. He merely swung his huge pincer, demonic aura covering its surface, and scattered the Earthly Baleful Qi with a single blow. Then he began absorbing the Earthly Baleful Qi swirling around him to strengthen all his spines.

Time passed steadily. He Yu shattered one pillar of Earthly Baleful Qi after another, while his spines continued absorbing it and growing stronger.

After strengthening all 480 million of his spines to twice their previous power with Earthly Baleful Qi, He Yu stopped and headed into the Golden Radiance Region. The light was dazzling and seemed almost solid. The moment he entered, he could no longer see anything at all—nothing but gold.

Bang! An explosion rang out three inches in front of him, and a tremendous force struck, making He Yu retreat half a step. His spines, combined with the demonic aura inside him, had formed an Earthly Baleful Demonic Aura Barrier, which blocked the blow from the Earthly Baleful Qi pillar.

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

The farther he went, the more pillars of Earthly Baleful Qi struck He Yu. But with the Earthly Baleful Demonic Aura Barrier around him, he remained unharmed.

"Strange. Why can this Earthly Baleful Qi attack anyone who enters? Could it have a mind of its own?" Puzzled, He Yu quickened his pace toward the center of the region. Now that he knew the golden radiance had no effect on him, there was no need to hold back. The Earthly Baleful Qi was sharp, but it still couldn't hurt him—especially since his Earthly Baleful Demonic Aura Barrier contained Earthly Baleful Qi itself, greatly reducing the force of its attacks.

He pressed deeper, enduring hundreds, even thousands of strikes from the Earthly Baleful Qi pillars, until at last he reached the center of the Golden Radiance Region. The moment he arrived, his vision cleared. The golden light was still dazzling, but now he could see clearly. The central area, three or four hundred meters across, came into sharp focus. A golden ball of light, about the size of a winnowing basket, floated one and a half zhang above the ground. Nearby stood a three-zhang-tall giant. It was formed from Earthly Baleful Qi and had no face. Its entire body constantly gathered and dispersed, as if it weren't solid at all.

"Is this the Source of Earthly Fiend? I never thought it could form a living creature! That golden orb must be the source at the heart of the golden radiance in this region. But what exactly is it?" He Yu pondered.

"Roar! Steal Light of Taichu... die!" The Earthly Fiend Giant let out a sluggish roar.

"Light of Taichu? What is that? It must be something good, though! I'll take it. And that giant's a treasure too! The Source of Earthly Fiend? Heh, I can't let that go to waste." He Yu thought to himself.