Meeting the Brown Python Demon Again

Chapter 5: Meeting the Brown Python Demon Again

Standing atop a cloud of green demonic energy, He Yu flew through the skies, riding the clouds and mist. Feeling the fierce wind rush against him, he was in an excellent mood. Flying felt simply wonderful.

As his thoughts shifted, the cloud beneath his feet turned firm or soft at will. He Yu's playful streak took over, and he made it hard one moment, then soft the next.

After flying past the woods around the river, a stretch of green opened up before him. Countless mountains stretched into the distance, some high and some low. Some were thick with trees, some covered in blooming flowers, some crowned with towering waterfalls, and others teeming with birds and beasts. There was no end to the variety. He Yu stared in amazement, and at the same time, he began to sense something about the light in this world.

His intuition told him that the sun, moon, and stars were not absent; they simply had not appeared yet for some reason. As for the light in the world, he had no idea where it came from, but he felt that it rose from the earth. This left him utterly baffled, so he could only tuck the questions away in his mind and wait for a chance to find the answers.

After flying over a hill connected to the woods, He Yu's excitement at riding the clouds and mist had finally worn off. Looking at the breathtaking natural scenery below, he couldn't help lowering his cloud and walking through it. With his current strength, it would be hard for anything to threaten him anyway. Perhaps it was because crabs were born with hard shells, but now that his cultivation had made some progress, his shell had become so hard it beggared belief. Even the most powerful machine gun from his previous life probably couldn't hurt him in the slightest—provided it didn't hit his eyes.

His eyes had grown stronger, too, but he was still dissatisfied with them. This weakness had become a knot in his heart.

With two huge iron claws held high, six legs carrying his enormous body, He Yu moved with startling speed. He passed through forests, crossed rivers, climbed hills, and scaled mountains with ease. And on top of that, he could fly. For a while, a surge of pride rose in him: With a world this vast, where couldn't I go?

As he traveled, countless natural treasures came into view. They varied in age, but none were younger than the ones he'd seen in the woods by the river, and their sheer variety left him dazzled.

He Yu was no longer the newcomer he'd been at first. Only natural treasures at least a thousand years old were worth his notice now, and along the way, he occasionally swallowed one or two.

His cultivation of Eight Meridians Mystic Pole had reached the Qi Induction realm's completion, and a complete cycle had formed inside him, allowing him to cultivate at all times. A thousand-year-old natural treasure turned into abundant spiritual energy in his belly, which circulated through his cultivation art and continually strengthened his twenty-four Demon Core seeds. His main Demon Core, however, could only passively absorb spiritual energy and grow stronger.

As he traveled through mountains, forests, and rivers, He Yu sensed quite a few demons. There were many, but none could compare to him. Wanting to test his strength, he deliberately let a little demonic energy leak out, and a number of demons came running at once. It was something he'd discovered on his journey: every demon had its own territory. The stronger the demon, the larger its territory; the weaker ones had smaller territories and needed to depend on powerful demons. Some demons with demonic energy almost on par with He Yu's even had lesser demons serving under them. It reminded him of the demons in Journey to the West who claimed mountains as their own and ruled as kings.

Since crossing into this world, He Yu had focused on cultivating and increasing his strength. He'd never considered building a following. Now, seeing that even demons weaker than him had underlings, he began to think about recruiting lesser demons and creating a force of his own. Numbers didn't matter much to the strong, but having more followers could take care of plenty of menial tasks and help him gather information. He decided that once he'd settled down, he'd subdue some lesser demons.

The demons he'd deliberately drawn in left him deeply disappointed. They looked quite impressive, came in all kinds, and made a fine sight: tigers, leopards, jackals, wolves, elk, mountain deer, wild boars, giant elephants, and more. It was a real eye-opener. But after a few exchanges, he lost interest. They couldn't withstand even a few blows, and that was with him holding back. If he got serious, hardly any of them could probably withstand a single move.

Once he'd lost interest, He Yu stopped luring demons over to test his skills. As he traveled, he let his full demonic aura spread out. The demons who sensed it were aghast. None dared come looking for trouble.

He wandered through the mountains and admired the scenery, occasionally swallowing a natural treasure that caught his eye. His Demon Cores slowly grew stronger, and He Yu leisurely savored the wondrous beauty of nature.

Hiss!

Just as He Yu reached a forest of giant trees, a familiar hiss rang out. At the same time, a fierce gust of wind rushed toward him from afar.

"A Python Demon?" He Yu was startled, instantly recognizing the newcomer. As he marveled at how small the world was, he gave a faint, cold laugh. The first time they'd met, the Python Demon could have killed him with ease. Now, the outcome of a fight between them was anyone's guess.

Rumble!

The fierce wind came hurtling closer, accompanied by trees crashing down one after another. He Yu looked ahead and saw low shrubs collapsing in a swath as the force approached. Gathering demonic energy in his eyes, he saw clearly that it was the brown Python Demon he'd encountered last time.

The Python Demon came quickly. He Yu had barely made out its shape when, after just a few breaths, it stopped a few zhang away.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!" It hissed without pause, its huge forked tongue flicking in and out. Its icy, gleaming eyes fixed on He Yu. It seemed that the limitations of a snake's vision didn't apply to the Python Demon.

The Python Demon was also shocked to see the crab before it, which was as big as a winnowing basket. From He Yu's aura, it recognized him as the lesser demon it had encountered while fighting the Giant Tiger Demon not long ago. At the time, it had been occupied with the fight, and He Yu's demonic energy had been too weak to merit its attention. It never expected that in such a short time, he would grow to this extent. It couldn't even gauge his strength anymore.

The Python Demon had come out because one of its capable underlings had been killed. Now, however, its anger had completely faded. Seeing He Yu's strength, it couldn't help wanting to subdue him. It had fought the neighboring Giant Tiger Demon for over a hundred years without winning or losing. With He Yu's help, it might finally be able to eliminate its great enemy.

"Was it you who killed one of my underlings?" a gloomy voice rang out in He Yu's mind, startling him. He noticed the Python Demon's expression and realized it had sent its voice directly into his mind. He was astonished; to him, it seemed quite magical.

"Gurgle, gurgle!" He Yu didn't know how to use telepathy, so he could only speak aloud. What came out was the language of a giant crab, leaving him embarrassed.

The Python Demon could tell that He Yu didn't know how to use telepathy. Its confidence grew a little. He Yu's demonic energy was powerful, but it seemed he was certainly less skilled at wielding it. So the Python Demon went ahead and taught him the telepathic method.

The telepathic method was very simple. As soon as the Python Demon taught it to him, He Yu understood.

"Was it you who killed one of my underlings?" the Python Demon asked again.

"Underlings? I've killed plenty of lesser demons—dozens at least, maybe a hundred. I don't know if any of them were yours!" It was He Yu's first time using telepathy, and he was thrilled. He hadn't spoken with anyone for days and had been horribly bored, so he'd focused all his energy on cultivation. Now that he knew a way to communicate with demons, he was overjoyed.

"Dozens, maybe a hundred? No need to say more. Everything within a thousand li of here is my territory, so the ones you killed were my underlings. You have two choices: either I kill you, or you submit to me. From now on, you'll be the second king of Cangmang Mountain!" the Python Demon said coldly.

"Second king?" He Yu was taken aback.