Chapter 222.2: The Heavenly Demon
The demon continued explaining.
“Lord Heavenly Demon said that now that the Heavenly Dao has fallen, the world that sustains us is on the verge of collapse. Our only way to survive is to create an entirely new world.”
“All living things in this world possess power of their own. Even the smallest mortal has a trace of power within them. In the past, when all living things died, that power would return to the heavens and reenter the cycle of reincarnation. But now, Lord Heavenly Demon has given us a magical artifact that can collect all that power… Naturally, that power can only be released once you’ve killed them.”
The Black Dragon stared blankly, its eyes wide.
“What is it talking about?”
The White Dragon replied solemnly, “I didn’t understand either.”
Cheng Qisheng glanced at the two dragons and realized that the two newly recruited Rain Gods of the Heavenly Court seemed to be rather poorly educated.
Then again, considering they were wild dragons, that was understandable.
Still, understandable or not, the Great Luo Blue Sea Heavenly Court was an official institution. Once the two Rain Gods formally took up their posts, she would have to arrange some literacy classes for them.
Just look at the Blue Sea residents! Having received an education, learned to read and write, and personally witnessed the world (in fact, several different worlds), they had no trouble understanding what the demons were saying.
“So, your Heavenly Demon wants to create a new world, but doesn’t have enough power. That’s why it has ordered you to kill powerful races and collect the power within them to create that new world?”
What an ambitious undertaking! And one that could only be accomplished under the rules of Fallen Heaven Star’s force-field conversion system.
The demon added:
“It’s not just powerful races. Demons, ghosts, gods, and even ordinary mortals can all be killed. Different demons have been assigned different missions. We were specifically sent to take the power of the Dragon Clan.”
A Blue Sea resident narrowed his eyes slightly.
“So, all those wars that have been breaking out with increasing frequency ever since the Heavenly Dao fell…”
Blue Sea had already felt that something was wrong.
It was true that demons, monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures were now running rampant across Fallen Heaven Star. Under normal circumstances, however, when a country was going through a difficult period, it would try its best to preserve its own strength rather than launch military campaigns against others.
Yet on Fallen Heaven Star, countries everywhere were gradually becoming embroiled in warfare.
Even if the world was coming to an end, this was still far too unreasonable.
The demon hesitated for a moment, seemingly wondering whether revealing this secret would get it killed by the Heavenly Demon.
But then it realized that even if it kept quiet, it would still die here. So it decided to speak.
“It’s true. Some demons have been assigned to incite wars. After all, although ordinary mortals are easy to kill, they’re scattered everywhere. Going from one city-state to another and slaughtering them one by one would take far too much effort for us demons. But war can gather large numbers of mortals in one place.”
It even sounded rather wistful, its tone carrying the envy of someone thinking, ‘That’s such an easy job! Why wasn’t I assigned to do that instead?’
“Sometimes, the demons don’t even need to do anything. The mortals can kill off huge numbers of their own people.”
The Blue Sea resident asked, “If demons are operating in the imperial capital, wouldn’t the City God notice you?”
The demon glanced somewhat guiltily at the gods standing before it.
“They would notice, certainly. But we… No, I mean, those demons would get the emperor to tear down the City God temples. That way, the City God naturally wouldn’t be able to get in their way.”
This was getting ridiculous.
Why would an emperor choose to listen to demons rather than an orthodox City God?
The guilt on the demon’s face was becoming increasingly obvious.
“Lord Heavenly Demon said that people wouldn’t believe demons, so… so…”
Qian Heng, who had specifically come all this way to participate in the battle, already understood what it was about to say.
She finished its sentence for it.
“So you told the emperors that you were gods.”
That was the only way to make the emperors trust the demons and turn against the very City Gods they had personally appointed and formally enshrined.
Clearly, demons knew how to dress themselves up in a respectable image, too.
It was much like how, if the sinister giant eyes above the Blue Sea residents’ heads were visible to everyone, people would probably regard them as heretical demons wherever they went.
The demon knew perfectly well that such behavior would infuriate every god present, so it kept sneaking glances at their expressions.
But it soon discovered, to its surprise, that these gods, whose combat strength was practically beyond reason, showed no signs of anger or disgust.
The expressions on every god’s face were utterly calm.
This put the demon somewhat at ease. Otherwise, it had genuinely been afraid that one of the enraged gods might suddenly wipe it out on the spot while it was still talking.
“Gods and demons are nothing more than names given to us by mortals. Lord Heavenly Demon says that, once we reach the new world, we will become the new gods.”
“Lord Heavenly Demon also has a Divine Capital under its command. Any demons, ghosts, or monsters that have rendered outstanding service can go to the Divine Capital. When Lord Heavenly Demon eventually establishes the new world, all the demons and monsters residing in the Divine Capital will be able to enter that new world and become gods.”
By then, there would no longer be any demons in the world. They themselves would be gods. Wouldn’t that mean they could eat as many humans as they pleased?
That was what the demon was thinking, but it didn’t dare say it aloud. It wasn’t stupid. It knew that gods were generally righteous beings. If they heard that, it would probably be dead on the spot.
Ah, the Divine Capital.
Cheng Qisheng recalled the first time she had descended upon Fallen Heaven Star. Back then, she had personally become an Earth God and fought alongside the residents against a wolf demon.
That wolf demon had indeed mentioned the words “Divine Capital.”
Judging by this, its sudden appearance and murderous rampage had probably been an attempt to join the Divine Capital and become a member of the “new world.”
This situation was far more complicated than they had originally anticipated.
The current state of Fallen Heaven Star was somewhat like that of a large corporation that had suddenly suffered a devastating blow and was on the verge of bankruptcy.
The company had two major bosses. One of them had died on the spot, while the other was still trying to turn things around by injecting fresh capital (getting the Safe Cities to provide assistance) in an attempt to save the company.
Meanwhile, an unknown employee within the company was doing everything possible to seize or steal the company’s money and other employees (by going around killing people), hoping to kick out the old company and establish a new one of their own.
In other words, Blue Sea, which had accepted the world’s mission, now had to do more than just build the Heavenly Court and reestablish the Heavenly Dao.
They also had to guard against this so-called Heavenly Demon, which was leading the demons in an attempt to slaughter every last living being on Fallen Heaven Star.
A god’s power came from faith. If all the mortals were slaughtered, the gods would be no better than lambs waiting to be slaughtered themselves.
And to slaughter ordinary mortals, they didn’t actually need to get their own hands dirty. All they had to do was manipulate the emperors who ruled over them.
Back when the Heavenly Dao still existed, dynasties possessed the protection of national fortune, while government officials carried official energy. Demons and monsters could hardly approach the imperial capitals.
But now that the Heavenly Dao was gone, these demons could indeed act with far fewer restrictions.
Wars between mortals were commonplace. Cultivators and gods wouldn’t think much of them either. Only those who got close enough could notice something was wrong. But the City Gods who were capable of detecting the problem had already been killed.
The newly appointed City Gods in these imperial capitals were probably demons in disguise, too.
This Heavenly Demon was actually quite the schemer.
But Blue Sea had always operated on the principle that if something could be settled with force, there was no need to waste words.
At Cheng Qisheng’s instruction, one of the Blue Sea residents asked:
“Do you know how many dynasties have been infiltrated by demons?”
The demon let out an awkward laugh.
“How could I possibly know that? I’m not working together with all of them.”
“Are you really sure you don’t know?”
“I really don’t! Even if you kill me, I still won’t know!”
As it spoke, it even seemed to offer its neck for execution, looking one hundred percent sincere.
The Blue Sea resident leading the interrogation raised an eyebrow. Then, with a casual lift of his hand, he sent a throwing knife completely coated in divine power flying outward.
It struck a tiny wisp of black mist far away in the ocean, which was struggling to move forward.
The moment divine power collided with demonic energy, a blue flame erupted above the sea and instantly devoured it.
“AAAAAH!!!!”
The Blue Sea resident withdrew his hand, and the throwing knife automatically flew back into his palm.
“I knew it. You’re being so cooperative because you’re just trying to buy time.”
This demon had probably separated a tiny wisp of demonic energy and sent it escaping while it was still inside the Black Tortoise.
That way, even if the gods killed its main body on the spot, that tiny wisp of demonic energy would allow it to survive, albeit at the cost of a severe loss of strength.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
Seeing that its escape route had been cut off, and that the gods were clearly preparing to take action, the demon hurriedly shouted:
“Don’t kill me! All I know is that once a dynasty recognizes demons as gods or appoints them as officials, the dynasty’s national fortune will help conceal their presence. That’s why the Divine Path can’t detect them, and cultivators can’t divine their whereabouts. Even if you go there yourselves, you won’t be able to tell who’s who!”
“But you can keep me alive! I’m a demon, so I can help you draw them out! Don’t kill me! I don’t want to die! I—AAAAAAH—”
Golden flames surged into the air. The dozen or so Blue Sea residents who had attacked withdrew their hands.
“Go tell that to the Dragon Clan members you killed.”
The Old Eighths had a certain degree of psychological cleanliness to maintain.
They could tolerate getting physically dirty for a while. That was fine. They could simply wash themselves clean afterward.
But working together with demons like these? Ugh… That was just too disgusting. They couldn’t stomach it.
Cheng Qisheng respected whatever decision the Old Eighths made.
“Demons disguising themselves as gods and stirring up trouble within mortal dynasties?”
The great Creator God of Blue Sea couldn’t help noticing that Fallen Heaven Star’s development was beginning to resemble the Investiture of the Gods from Blue Star more and more.
However, this incident had indeed given Cheng Qisheng an idea.
The wars among mortals couldn’t be allowed to continue. Blue Sea had to intervene.
So what if the demons were disguising themselves as gods? The Old Eighths could do that, too.
Come on, then! Let the fakes face off!
Furthermore, as everyone knew, when a dynasty was declining and descending into chaos, it was the easiest time to distinguish good officials from corrupt ones.
There were plenty of vacant divine positions now, but she couldn’t just appoint any random person to fill them.
She could also imitate certain parts of the plot of Investiture of the Gods and select reliable officials from these dynasties to confer divine titles upon them.
It didn’t matter even if they had been framed and killed. As long as they were capable of doing the job, they could become gods.
Cheng Qisheng: Well, this really has turned into an Investiture of the Gods.
Ever since arriving on Fallen Heaven Star, the great Creator God had focused all her attention on the divine path while overlooking the mortal dynasties. Now, she silently turned on the television.
She decided to do two things at once: follow the perspectives of believers scattered across the various dynasties to investigate which ones might already be under demonic control, while rewatching the old version of Investiture of the Gods to look for inspiration.
“Come on, Aether. Let’s watch some TV.”
Aether, which was in the middle of working, knew perfectly well that it was currently working hours. But… the City Lord had invited it…
The jellyfish-shaped AI quickly floated over and settled beside the City Lord’s shoulder.
“City Lord, Aether is ready.”
——
Fallen Heaven Star.
Inside the Black Tortoise’s shell, freed from the restraints of the demonic energy, the soul of the Black Tortoise could finally leave its long-dead physical body. It felt as though every inch of its being had been cleansed!
Hahahahahahahaha!!!
It could finally get out!!
A ten-thousand-year-old Black Tortoise possessed considerable cultivation, even as a mere soul.
Previously, it had been controlled by some strange technique, forced to watch helplessly as its cultivation was gradually worn away.
But now, it could finally leave this physical body!
The Black Tortoise might have a mild temperament, but anyone who had been killed, only to have their corpse controlled and their soul imprisoned, would surely get angry.
It was going to kill all those demons!
It was going to bite their heads off!
It was going to drain every last trace of demonic energy from their bodies!
The Black Tortoise’s soul burst out of its body, brimming with murderous fury.
And wouldn’t you know it? The very first thing it saw was the last remaining demon, which was currently screaming as the final trace of demonic energy was forcibly dispersed from its body.
Over a hundred million gods had surrounded the entire area in layer upon layer of formation. Every one of them bore at least a few wounds, along with bloodstains from the demon-controlled beasts they had fought. Their collective killing intent was positively overwhelming.
In the distance, countless beast carcasses floated on the surface of the sea.
The gods had clearly finished dealing with the demons and immediately noticed the enormous soul that had suddenly emerged. Every single one of them turned to look at it in unison.
The Black Tortoise, which had lived for a very long time but was, after all, still a demon beast: “…”
Would it still have time to slip back into its body?
——
Hu Xuan Sect —
The Deputy Sect Master was handling official affairs.
At the Hu Xuan Sect, if you were an ordinary cultivator, you would have the opportunity to leave the mountain and randomly travel somewhere to undergo training.
If you were an elder, however, you could cultivate in your own cave dwelling every day, only occasionally being summoned to help out when the sect had something that needed doing.
If you were the Sect Master, however, life would be wonderful—in the worst possible way. You would have countless unfinished tasks to deal with. You had to look after the cultivators below you while keeping the elders above you happy. Stuck in the middle, you would be buried under all sorts of official business every single day, unable to extricate yourself.
For this reason, at the Hu Xuan Sect, the two Sect Masters took turns serving as the head of the sect, with the position rotating among the middle- and upper-ranking cultivators.
They switched every year, and as for who became the Head Sect Master and who became the Deputy Sect Master, that was decided entirely by drawing lots.
Whoever drew the unlucky lot became the Head Sect Master. The arrangement was roughly equivalent to how, in middle and high schools on Blue Star, whoever was unlucky enough would end up becoming the homeroom teacher.
This was also one of the reasons why the current Head Sect Master had personally led people out to seek revenge against the demons.
It was a rotating responsibility.
This time, the Head Sect Master went out.
Next time, it would be the Deputy Sect Master’s turn.
At that moment, the Deputy Sect Master was busy writing away at her desk.
Suddenly, she sensed something. She abruptly raised her head and reached out, catching a letter that had flown in from outside.
After opening it, she read through the descriptions and examined the illustrations inside. The contents looked practically like something written in the language of heaven.
Countless demons wreaking havoc in the Myriad Stars Sea, while over a hundred million gods gathered to encircle and exterminate them?
It sounded completely made up.
Even if the letter had claimed there were a thousand gods, that would have been more believable!
A hundred million… The entire population of the country they lived in, including every single mortal, probably didn’t even amount to that many.
But this really was a letter from the Head Sect Master.
He might take advantage of official duties to drag out his stay and avoid coming home, but he would never send back false information.
This was a major matter—and a piece of very good news.
At the very least, the righteous side had suddenly gained an enormous new force. More people needed to know about this, and the matter had to be discussed.
The Deputy Sect Master took a deep breath.
“Someone! Come here!”
“Make copies of this letter and send them to the Daoist sects throughout the land!”
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