"Fifteenth Brother, we know you're full of resentment, but everything was done to make our clan stronger. You must weigh the gains against the losses. The chief culprit was executed back then, and our refusal to interfere already made our stance clear. Now you've killed so many people, and we still haven't stopped you. Isn't that enough? Any more killing will only chill people's hearts. Many had no choice but to act for the future of the Martial King Manor. They merely had to choose what to sacrifice," an ancestor said.
"What kind of logic is that? The villain who took my grandson's Supreme Bone could escape punishment and even receive the Martial King Manor's full support simply because he became more talented, while my grandson had to leave his homeland with his parents, and even seeking justice earned them punishment and exile. Piss on the ground and look at your reflection. See if you've gone senile. Do you really think you're doing this for the Martial King Manor? You can't even see this simple distinction." The Great Demon God made a vulgar gesture that flushed the ancestor's face crimson.
"Talent, is it? Fine! Dig the Supreme Bone and Double Pupils out of Shi Yi and transplant them into a sufficiently talented youngster devoted to the Martial King Manor. Wouldn't that be better? The villain loses his head, and the Martial King Manor still has a born supreme being. Nothing changes from what you have now. What do you think? How laughable. You still don't understand where you went wrong, yet you're trying to persuade me with the same old nonsense."
"What makes you so unwilling to punish Shi Yi severely? Is he one of your offspring? What good is a vile creature like him to the Martial King Manor? If he can harm his younger cousin today, he can let his mother die in his place tomorrow. Oh, I forgot-his mother is already dead. Who comes next? His father? The Martial King Manor? Don't forget that his father is very close to Demon Spirit Lake these days. Don't get sold out without even realizing it. If you keep indulging Shi Yi, what unity will the Martial King Manor have left?"
The four ancestors' faces alternated between green and red, but they could offer no rebuttal. Indeed, stripping Shi Yi of his Double Pupils and Supreme Bone to punish his deeds was the proper course. If they could find no suitable recipient, they could even offer them to the Stone Emperor, but many would oppose that. Shi Yi's branch was indeed connected to several of the ancestors, who were unwilling to punish him. None of them belonged to Shi Hao's branch, however. After the Great Demon God left, that branch had grown too weak to accomplish anything.
"What? So you do understand. Then this is easy. Get lost and retire!"
The Great Demon God swept his hand out, drove the four elders back, and began a slaughter. Bloodshed shrouded the Martial King Manor's courtyard, yet everyone remained silent as cicadas in winter.
"Fifteenth Brother! You've gone too far."
"Martial King, since you've gone senile, get off your throne!"
The Great Demon God unleashed his divine might, defeating the Martial King, the Rain King, and the Spirit Body of a venerable from Demon Spirit Lake in succession, shaking the imperial capital.
The Stone Emperor personally bestowed the title of Demon God King upon Shi Zhongtian. He established a separate manor and brought his old brothers over.
Afterward, the Great Demon God requested an audience with the Stone Emperor, hoping to obtain news of the ancestral land so he could find Shi Hao.
"There's no need to worry. Shi Hao has occasionally appeared in the Void God Realm in recent years. You can wait there; sooner or later, you'll see him. If you leave now, Demon Spirit Lake may intercept and kill you. In the future, he will come to the Martial King Manor to reclaim his Supreme Bone. You can then step forward as our bridge to the Stone Kingdom Ancestral Land. With the ancestral land emerging into the world, we must not slight it."
"As for Shi Yi, the Martial King said this was an internal matter for his manor and that he would handle it properly, so I did not intervene. But because of his father, Shi Yi has drawn ever closer to Demon Spirit Lake in recent years. It is only a matter of time before his heart and loyalty turn elsewhere, so I have never granted him a baptism with heavenly treasures. If Shi Yi truly brings Demon Spirit Lake here to back him up someday, I will not spare him. Failing to know when to advance and when to retreat is already a path to death!" The Stone Emperor actually uttered these words. Shi Yi's earlier attempt to advance through retreat had failed to sway him.
If he truly intended to relinquish the Supreme Bone, he should have waited in the Stone Kingdom Imperial Palace and submitted to judgment. What sense did it make to run to the Heaven Mending Pavilion in search of the Heaven-Mending Art and draw close to Demon Spirit Lake? The Stone Emperor was not so easily fooled.
Having received news of Shi Hao, Shi Zhongtian did not rush off to search for his son this time. He decided to wait until he met Shi Hao before discussing how to find his son and daughter-in-law.
A long time passed in a flash. No news of Shi Hao surfaced in the Void God Realm for the moment, but word of Wu Gensheng's activities emerged first.
In the Primordial Sacred Mountain's territory within the Void God Realm, he went around picking fights with the younger generation, causing considerable chaos.
Reportedly, the younger generation there had already formed a small gathering to discuss how to ambush this menace.
The Five-Colored Divine Light swept past, wiping out all magical power and Precious Techniques. A Flood Dragon collapsed in agony.
"My scales are sticking out! My scales are sticking out! Come help me!" A disease found in fish had manifested in a Flood Dragon.
"I'm not even an aquatic creature. How would I treat raised scales?" the Pixiu beside the Flood Dragon asked in shock. The Five-Colored Divine Light swept past again.
"Aaah! I'm not a fish! Why am I swelling up too?"
Chen Yao chuckled nearby. "Ah, your constitutions aren't quite up to par. A little intense external stimulation, and your bodies start swelling. Your elders have already agreed to let me give your constitutions a thorough tempering, so stop hiding."
"Wu Gensheng, may you die a horrible death!" The Flood Dragon swayed, enduring the pain as the dragon pulled out some of the protruding scales.
"Hmm? Where do you think you're going, three-eyed brat? Let's give your eyesight a proper tempering." The Five-Colored Divine Light swept past again.
"I can't see! I can't see! Stop it! I really can't see!" A young talent of the Three-Eyed Tribe fell to the ground, eyes vacant, as though cataracts were about to form.
"How can a race that commands fire fear heat? Come, I'll help you take another step forward." The Five-Colored Divine Light swept toward a Bifang wreathed in flames.
"Fuck you, you #%!" The Bifang screamed. Heat rose through the bird's body until every inch burned hot-a fever had actually set in.
This was a cultivator-level fever. To destroy the invading external demon, the body naturally burned magical power at full strength. Under the Heavenly Demon Tribulation's influence, however, that burning of magical power to destroy the external demon had clearly spiraled somewhat out of control.
"Your fleshly body becoming spirit hasn't been tempered enough. You can't properly control your body's reactions. You still need more training," Chen Yao commented.
"Father! Don't let him do whatever he wants!"
"Mother, I want to go home!"
The descendants of the Primordial Remnants howled like ghosts and wailed like wolves, pleading for help from their elders in the distance.
"Young friend Wu Gensheng is right. Every part suffering these tribulations is a foundation of our very existence. It's because your fleshly bodies have flaws that external demons can affect you so easily. Look-nothing happens when Wu Gensheng sweeps his light over us," an elder of the Bifang race said serenely.
"That's because you bastards have higher cultivation! If you've got the guts, try it in this Spirit Transformation Region!" The Bifang felt muddleheaded. Even the bird's primordial spirit was affected by the boiling magical power and feverish body, and the Bifang began speaking without restraint.
"Young friend, there's no need to spare our feelings. Increase the intensity. Only by enduring the bitterest hardships can one become a beast above beasts." The Bifang elder had taken a human form with a long, flowing beard. His eyes were sharp as he stared at his junior.
"I agree as well. Without a powerful fleshly body free of weaknesses, how can they inherit our mantle?" the old Pixiu said.
"Does an injury to your fleshly body mean you can no longer use the Three-Eyed Divine Ability? Your purity is far too low!" a giant-like elder of the Three-Eyed Tribe declared. "Suppress the external demon at once! A tribulation of the flesh is no more than this. Don't let it affect you!"
"Motherfucker." All the juniors cursed. Who could they possibly appeal to? Wu Gensheng had actually dragged their elders into the same mire!
Their elders had always protected them before. Now, because Wu Gensheng had offered to spar while tempering their fleshly bodies free of charge, their elders had switched sides and stood nearby to watch and supervise.
An Azure Phoenix convulsed all over and fell to the ground, utterly powerless. The bird had actually become paralyzed.
"There's a problem with your remolding the true self in the Spirit Transformation stage. Your primordial spirit and fleshly body aren't closely connected enough, so the external demon severed the link between spirit and flesh. You need to work harder." Chen Yao silently assessed the situation. Then a mire appeared on the ground, and pitch-black tentacles coiled toward a nearby junior from Little Western Heaven.
"Mmm... oh!" Anyone who understood the Lower Corpse understood. This Five-Colored Peacock from Little Western Heaven, who had assumed the form of a monk, writhed on the ground as vital essence leaked away, looking utterly drained.
"All is emptiness! Diligently wipe it clean at all times; where can dust alight? Do not let desire blind your eyes." An eminent monk barged into the scene. He, too, had joined the fun, using external demons to temper the Dao heart of the remnant beast his sect had subdued.
"Hahaha! Thank you, young friend. I feel that my junior has been working much harder lately. Both cultivation and foundations have improved tremendously! Do come visit my sacred mountain when you have time!" Under the resentful gazes of the young Primordial Remnants, their elders thanked that bastard.
No! We have to surround him in private at least once. If we don't avenge this grudge, we're no divine beasts! The juniors secretly resolved.
Before you continue