The Northern Abyss Crab Clan

Chapter 44: The North Abyss Crab Race

Xuanji rode the clouds at full speed, heading toward the forest of demon trees. The path was swift, and within minutes, the boundless, pitch-black forest shrouded in demonic energy came into view. Xuanji immediately employed the Transformations of Tiangang and Disha, shifting into a mosquito to fly forward. He kept his aura restrained and sought a hidden spot the moment he entered the woods, acting with extreme caution. While he believed he could hold his own against anyone below the Celestial Immortal realm, encountering a true Celestial Immortal would be a catastrophe.

He headed north without a specific destination, forced to search at random. Yet, Xuanji was not worried; the six races were vying for dominance in the Eastern Wasteland, and with the current chaos, their movements were bound to be significant. He had no fear of failing to find them.

As he traveled, Xuanji was in no rush. From time to time, he would collect demon trees, flora, and fauna into the Ancient Wild World. During this period, the world had evolved further, now spanning forty thousand li. With the acquisition of the Sun Moon Pearl, the rules of Yin Yang had begun to gestate, and the embryonic forms of the Sun Star and Moon Star had appeared. They only required the absorption of Solar Golden Flames and Lunar Profound Ice to be fully realized.

Time slipped away, and over a month passed in the blink of an eye. Along the way, he had collected countless demon trees and plants, along with ten Earth Immortal-level beast corpses and two Celestial Immortal-level beast corpses. The Ancient Wild Heavenly Realm and the Netherworld had improved significantly, and the underground minerals had evolved into several new types of metals and jade. The realm had expanded to forty-five thousand li. At this point, he reached the northern edge of the demon tree forest, only to find a vast sea, its waves surging and boundless.

He froze. Since transmigrating to the Primordial World, Xuanji had never seen the sea. One had to realize that the Four Seas lay at the extreme edges of the Primordial continent; for him at the time, reaching them would have been an immense challenge. The Primordial World was simply too vast. Even if his Primordial Avatar, at the early Earth Immortal stage, were to fly at top speed from the vicinity of Mount Buzhou, it would be impossible to reach the Four Seas in less than ten years, and that was assuming he never stopped.

The sea? I've never heard of there being a sea within the Primordial continent! Unable to fathom it, Xuanji moved forward rapidly. He was filled with wonder; this was his first time seeing the sea in either his past or present life. He felt compelled to explore it. The vast sea was treacherous, but for a cultivator, that meant little—especially given Xuanji's current cultivation and strength. He did not fear the natural forces of the sea; the only things he needed to be wary of were the water monsters and giant beasts within.

Upon reaching the shore, a flash of light enveloped Xuanji, and he instantly transformed into a small crab, the size of a thumb. He was complete in form and spirit; since his true body was a River Crab, such a transformation was effortless.

Splash!

Water sprayed as Xuanji dove straight into the sea. Once inside, the world seemed to change. In this clear, azure realm, water plants grew in abundance, and reefs and coral were visible everywhere, brilliant and colorful. As he ventured deeper, he began to see numerous aquatic creatures—fish, shrimp, turtles, crabs... hundreds and thousands of them, in a vast variety of species.

This... how can this be? These are ordinary aquatic creatures. While some possess cultivation, it is no higher than the Qi-Refining or Golden Core stages. He was deeply shocked. He knew that the aura of Gods and Devils shrouded the Primordial World, and no living being could escape it. Even with the protection of rivers, lakes, and seas, the aquatic races should have all been giant beasts or massive water monsters. After all, the Era of Giant Beasts had just begun, and it should have taken at least ten thousand years for life to evolve. The current beings of the Primordial World were all the first generation.

Suddenly, Xuanji realized that his understanding of the Primordial World was far too shallow. Nothing was as simple as he had imagined. The six races of the Eastern Wasteland had already slipped out of his control, and these ordinary creatures and demons completely overturned his calculations. There must be reasons he was unaware of. The aura of Gods and Devils had shrouded the Primordial World for over a month; it was unlikely they had escaped the Great Beast Calamity by luck, but how else could one explain the presence of so many ordinary creatures?

In truth, Xuanji harbored many doubts. He had transmigrated to the Primordial World in the final year of the first era. Even if his luck was poor, the fact that the preceding three eras had only evolved over the span of a single Yuanhui differed from his memories. According to the information from his past life, the beginning of the Primordial World—not to mention the Era of Giant Beasts—should have seen the Era of Ferocious Beasts alone evolve over thousands or tens of thousands of Yuanhui. Furthermore, his own transmigration was a mystery. Struck by a car?

Sigh! Too many mysteries. I can only unravel them slowly. With a sigh in his heart, Xuanji pulled his focus back. He had much to do: the affairs of the six races, and the need to prepare for the Three Disasters and Eight Calamities. Now, the aquatic life of this vast sea was another problem.

Boom! Splash!

Amidst the surging currents, a hundred-zhang-long Tiger Shark approached. It radiated the aura of an early-stage Earth Immortal, causing all the aquatic creatures to prostrate themselves. Seeing this, Xuanji pondered: this Tiger Shark beast had only early-stage Earth Immortal cultivation; his Primordial Avatar should be enough to kill it.

"All you lowly aquatic creatures, head to the Holy King City at once!" A rough voice echoed in his mind through telepathic transmission—clearly the work of the Tiger Shark beast. For beasts to speak human language, they needed to refine their throat bones, which could be done with Primordial Spirit cultivation. However, giant beasts were an exception; their bodies were formidable, their souls and magic power fused with their flesh. They possessed no Primordial Spirit and their only path to the Great Dao was body refinement—the path of proving the Dao through strength. Yet, even with Pangu's power, proving the Dao through strength led to death and nirvana. Moreover, the descendants of Gods and Devils were not tolerated by the Primordial World; they were even more wretched than the Wu Race!

Holy King City? Since when did the Primordial World have a second city? Xuanji blended into the gathering of over a hundred crabs, his small size making him completely inconspicuous among the giant crabs several meters tall.

"Holy King City! To think we would actually get to see this famous giant city of the North Abyss River!" A common giant crab about a meter tall whispered excitedly with a "gurgle." Xuanji understood crab language, so he heard it clearly and was stunned. River? This isn't a sea? This is a river? And this river is far too large!

Wait! North Abyss? Kunpeng?

In his past life, Xuanji had been fond of ancient texts, and he certainly hadn't missed Zhuangzi's Free and Easy Wandering. It recorded: "In the North Abyss, there is a fish, its name is Kun. The Kun is so large, I do not know how many thousands of li it spans; it transforms into a bird, its name is Peng. The back of the Peng is, I do not know how many thousands of li across; when it rages and flies, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky." This Kunpeng was skilled in transformation, understood all things, and assisted the Heavenly Emperor in clearing the universe, receiving the title of Nine Heavens Kunpeng. It was a legendary existence in the Primordial World. Combining ancient texts, novels, and myths, Xuanji knew that the Heavenly Emperor mentioned by Zhuangzi was the first Heavenly Emperor of the Primordial World—the Demon Emperor Dijun. Kunpeng assisting him in clearing the universe must have referred to the integration of the Primordial Demon Race. As for the title, "Nine Heavens Kunpeng" was merely a nickname; "Demon Master" was his true name in the Primordial World.

This is the North Abyss? But it is said that the North Abyss is a vast ocean, not a river! He pondered, puzzled, and listened carefully to the chatter of the giant crabs around him.

"That's right, I hear the Holy King City is magnificent. It's simply the greatest in the Eastern Wasteland, the greatest structure in the Primordial World!" another giant crab said excitedly.

"Hmph! The greatest in the Eastern Wasteland? The greatest in the Primordial World? A mere Holy King City is worthy of that?" A giant crab at the early-stage Demon Core level heard the juniors' words and sneered with disdain, his eyes filled with deep mockery. This immediately drew curious questions from the surrounding common crabs.

"Grandpa Crab Three, why do you say that? All the North Abyss aquatic races praise the Holy King City to the skies. Many who have been lucky enough to see it call it the number one city in the Primordial World!"

Hearing the questions of his descendants, Crab Three fell into a nostalgic trance. A sense of pride welled up within him as he spoke slowly: "In this North Abyss River, our Crab Race is extremely lowly, only half a step above the Shrimp Race. Our strong have withered away, and there are few even at the peak of the Demon Core stage. But do you know that in the ancient era, our Crab Race was the Royal Race of the Primordial World? We were the greatest race in the entire Primordial World, directly controlling the Central Region, while the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Wastelands all bowed in submission. The current North Abyss Blood Python race was nothing more than a lowly servant in the hands of the Crab Ancestor during the ancient era. Any one of the Ten Demon Marshals could have easily slaughtered it."

"Crab Ancestor? Why have we never heard of him? The Ten Demon Marshals are famous throughout the Eastern Wasteland; even the six races have to fear them!" The giant crabs were all confused. Their intelligence was low, and they had only recently gained sentience. Only a few strong individuals in the tribe knew anything about the ancient era, and Crab Three was one of them, primarily because he enjoyed interesting news and had learned much from the few peak Demon Core experts in the tribe.

"In the ancient era, the Crab Ancestor was the Demon King of the Primordial World, supreme and peerless. The Ten Demon Marshals were all subordinates of the Crab Race. Do you know why the Ten Demon Marshals are in seclusion now? It is said they are waiting for the Crab Ancestor to emerge. In the ancient era, all the Ten Demon Marshals combined could not withstand a single blow from the Crab Ancestor; he could defeat them with a wave of his hand. Now, the six races dominate the Eastern Wasteland and seem infinitely glorious, but why do they not dare to kill or subjugate the Ten Demon Marshals? It is because they fear the Crab Ancestor and are keeping a path of retreat. Although the Crab Ancestor is missing, all the experts believe he is in hiding, cultivating. Once he emerges, he is highly likely to dominate the Primordial World once more. When that time comes, the Ten Demon Marshals will emerge to follow him, as will the Fourteen Great Demon Generals." Crab Three spoke excitedly, unable to stop. Not far away, Xuanji was stunned. He suddenly discovered that the situation was not as pessimistic as he had imagined. Although he had lost the consciousness source of the twenty-four subordinate Demon Kings, those kings likely still believed they were under his control. Furthermore, his dominance as their Demon King had left a deep impression on them.

Heh! This is a good thing! Those twenty-four Demon Kings are at least at the Celestial Immortal level now. If they all submit, my strength will increase dramatically! An unexpected joy, truly an unexpected joy!

Calm down, I must stay calm. My cultivation is not yet high enough. The six races are likely wary of me; if I am exposed, it would be fine if I could suppress them, but otherwise, I would surely be attacked by their combined forces. The top priority is to raise my cultivation, incite war among the six races, and weaken their strength. I will emerge to clean up the mess when they are all battered and exhausted. As long as I plan correctly, it is possible for me, the Demon King of the Primordial World, to rise again! Hehe! Xuanji suppressed the wild joy in his heart, struggling to calm his surging emotions.

"Grandpa Crab Three, is that true? Was the Crab Ancestor really the Demon King of the Primordial World?" Many giant crabs did not believe Crab Three's words, mainly because lowly and weak tribes often exaggerated their past glory. Moreover, Crab Three's words were simply too terrifying.

The Demon King of the Primordial World?

What kind of concept was that!

Seeing that many crabs did not believe him, Crab Three became anxious. In his heart, this was more important than his own life. If anyone questioned it, he would be willing to fight to the death. But now that his descendants were questioning him, he couldn't fight them, and he grew increasingly desperate, trying to think of compelling evidence, but to no avail.

Just as Crab Three was in his anxiety, a giant city became faintly visible in the far distance. Seeing it, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he laughed happily: "You only know of the magnificence of the Holy King City, but you know nothing of the Demon King City! That is the true, rightful main city of the Primordial World, located within the Mount Buzhou Range at the center of the world. It is more than ten times larger and more magnificent than the Holy King City. Although it has now turned into ruins, one can still find the giant statue of the Crab Ancestor there. Even the six races do not dare to lay a finger on the Demon King City. Although the Holy King City is a complete imitation of the Demon King City, does the North Abyss Blood Python race dare to build it any larger?"

The crabs of the Crab Race were all stunned. Hearing Crab Three's adamant tone, it didn't seem like a lie. Could the Crab Race truly have been so glorious, supreme over the Primordial World?

Xuanji, hidden within the crab swarm, was dumbfounded!