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“In the Divine Dao of the vast Spiritual Realm, there are two Emperors. One is the Celestial Thearch, and the other is Excellency Mount Mang.
“And in the Immortal Dao, there are at least three Zenith Heavens!”
…
Fang Yuan left Songxia County and revealed his original appearance. Walking casually with a book basket on his back, he looked like a student on a carefree journey.
White smoke rose from kitchen chimneys, and candles were lit up in villages.
After walking in the mountains for a while, he came across a fair. This place was more crowded than Songxia County, but for some unknown reason, everyone was expressionless and lifeless.
In front of an open-air tavern beside the street, the old man who owned it stopped Fang Yuan. Revealing his sparse and yellow teeth, he asked, “Young man, where are you going?”
“The capital of Ye!”
Fang Yuan sat down in the tavern and glanced around.
There were few customers, so it was understandable that the old man tried to look for more on the street. The seats for customers were in the front of the tavern, and the kitchen was at the back. White steam rose from the boiling water in the kitchen.
“The capital of Ye is a good place. You’ll reach it after going over another mountain.”
The old man said with an affected smile, “But it’s not safe nowadays… Refugees wreak havoc, drought has ruined vast expanses of land, and starved people eat children… Following the royal preceptor’s suggestion, the king has killed seven supervisory officials. He’s also capturing young children for making pills. Are you really going to the capital despite the turmoil there?”
“Uncle, why do I feel that you don’t sound like an ordinary person?” said Fang Yuan with hidden meaning.
“Hehe… I simply learned a bit from all kinds of guests!” said the old man with a reserved smile. “Moreover, the mountain in front is dangerous too. A giant demon has recently occupied the mountain, and it likes eating humans!”
Bloop! Bloop!
Meanwhile, something like a human hand floated onto the surface of the boiling water.
“How about it? Would you like to rest here tonight and have some dumplings?” His smile became even stranger. “The dumplings here are famous for their great taste.”
“Is the stuffing made of human flesh?” Fang Yuan smiled subtly.
“You got it right. It’s precisely made of human flesh!”
A green glow flashed across the old man’s eyes, and his appearance suddenly became ferocious.
The youth walking on the street, the aunt selling clothes, the butcher slicing meat, and all the others in the surroundings paused and turned around, their eyes also emitting green light.
The entire fair began to look unreal in the thick fog.
Numerous figures crowded around Fang Yuan, their expressions indifferent and their legs disappearing in the fog.
“Servant Ghosts?!”
Fang Yuan seemed to have expected it and sighed.
Ferocious tigers not only ate humans, but they were even better at confining souls. To survive, these souls captured by the tigers had to assist them, and that was how the phrase ‘the servants of the tiger’ came about.
But right now, there were at least five hundred Servant Ghosts in the fair, which was terrible.
Whoosh whoosh!
The illusion of the fair completely disappeared in a breeze, but the number of Servant Ghosts kept increasing. They suddenly gathered and surrounded Fang Yuan.
“The demon that eats humans is actually your master, right?”
Fang Yuan looked around, but only saw a bleak mountain wilderness. He could not help laughing. “How dare mere ghosts appear before me? Are you courting death? Or are you courting death?”
He shouted lightly—a powerful and impressive aura suddenly rose and expanded around him.
Many Servant Ghosts shrieked in pain and hurriedly backed away, their figures about to melt.
Righteous Qi rendered the ghosts powerless!
Fang Yuan was not a Confucian scholar, but the three thousand Great Daos eventually all led to the same destination. Moreover, having been a teacher for decades, he could effortlessly simulate Confucian techniques.
Confucian scholars in this world refined a mouthful of righteous Qi. Even if they could not fight at all, legend had it that once they achieved great success in cultivation, their shouts were like the rage of the heavens and could scare ghosts and spirits away.
There was once a Confucian scholar whose shout killed half of the heretic cultivators in a city.
Of course, Fang Yuan was not at such a realm, but it was a piece of cake to kill hundreds of Servant Ghosts with a shout.
“Ah!”
Shrieks rang out everywhere.
The old man in front of Fang Yuan was stunned as he saw a plume of white Qi rising from Fang Yuan’s body.
The Qi current was harmless to ordinary people. But to them, it was like the sun, melting their flesh and blood into dark smoke and dissipating their entire bodies.
In the blink of an eye, the souls of more than thirty Servant Ghosts vanished from the world.
Such an unforeseen event immediately attracted the attention of their master, who had been manipulating them behind the scenes.
Aw! Aw!
Clouds curled in strong gusts, and a tiger’s roar was heard throughout the forest.
A frightening sound swept across the area, negating the righteous Qi and protecting some of the Servant Ghosts.
A giant silhouette quickly approached during the shocking, furious roar.
“It’s indeed a tiger!”
Fang Yuan gazed at the demon approaching him and swept it with the Heavenly Eye Seer Spell, but his expression was a bit strange.
As expected, it was a giant tiger with feline eyes and a white forehead. It was the size of a mountain, and its domineering aura implied its identity as the ruler of the forest.
But Fang Yuan was slightly surprised by the unfathomable temperament hidden in it.
“Demonic nature? Evil Qi? No wonder… This demon is only eighteen years old? Was it corrupted by Mental Demons as well?”
Humans could be corrupted by Mental Demons, and so could beasts.
But the growth of this giant tiger was horrifying.
Its achievement in 18 years would take other demon cultivators 180 or even 1,800 years to attain!
Aw! Aw!
The giant tiger glared at Fang Yuan, as if it would pounce forward in the next moment.
Suddenly, a cyclone engulfed it. By the time the cyclone subsided, the mountain-like tiger was replaced by a youth.
“I’ve found you! Dream Demon!”
The youth’s eyes had no pupils. But despite his lifeless expression, his words stunned Fang Yuan.
“You are… the Lord of the Void?!”
Fang Yuan’s expression was solemn.
The Lord of the Void was most proficient at dividing and evolving his spiritual will which carried demonic thoughts. He was known to be undying due to his countless incarnations.
Apparently, one of his demonic thoughts inhabited this giant tiger’s body. More importantly, he immediately took control of it and appeared as soon as he discovered Fang Yuan.
Only by conversing with him did Fang Yuan feel the concept of the void attacking and eroding his foundation.
It was not an attack by the Essence Soul or any physical body, but by a higher-level ‘concept’!
This giant tiger was not the original body of the Demon God, so Fang Yuan could definitely overpower it. But in a battle of concepts, where they expended the most fundamental things they had, Demon Masters were no match for Demon Gods.
However, Fang Yuan was an exception!
Omnidirectional Divine Demonic Armament Dao!
A mark emerged on his right hand and evolved into another Great Dao, one that was astonishingly sharp.
This dreadful Great Dao seemed to embody all armaments that had ever existed on battlefields, and it immediately devoured all the void concept.
“You…” The youth took a few steps backward, looking shocked. “Demon God? Not quite. But you possess the power of a Demon God using external aid!”
The Omnidirectional Divine Demonic Armament Dao was a Great Dao as well!
With its help, Fang Yuan could fight against any incarnation of the Lord of the Void!
And the Lord of the Void was not foolish either, immediately understanding the situation. “You’re only a Demon Master, but you actually concentrated an auxiliary Dao. Impressive! Really impressive! I acknowledge… that you qualify to be one of us!”
A Demon Master with a Pseudo Dao was nearly as capable as a Demon God and could not be underestimated.
“It seems that… there was some misunderstanding, but this doesn’t matter anymore, right?”
Fang Yuan stood with his hands behind the back and smiled.
With the Omnidirectional Divine Demonic Armament Dao, he had nothing to fear unless this Demon God’s original body arrived here.
He could readily annihilate this Demon God’s incarnation in front of him.
“That’s right!”
The Lord of the Void adjusted his state quickly.
Regardless of what had happened, the Demon Master before him was worth befriending.
“What happened to the Mental Demon Battlefield afterward?” Fang Yuan finally asked this burning question.
“The situation is very unfavorable. The Celestial Thearch’s ability is far beyond our imagination. He’s the most powerful one in this world, especially with the world’s support in times of crisis… ” said the Lord of the Void. “Most of my original body and the Infinite Devourer’s… were defeated and sealed. Even the majority of the Mental Demon Battlefield was refined. We’re in a dire situation!”
“As expected…”
Fang Yuan raised his head and gazed at the purple star.
In the sunlight, the green star beside it shimmered, while the purple light became feeble. He immediately felt more assured at this sight.
“Of course, there were Demon Gods who sneaked away, including Li Hen and Ancient Netherworld as far as I know… Ancient Netherworld is a bit more pathetic. Strictly speaking, he’s already dead…” the Lord of the Void said. “I’m sure that Ancient Netherworld is still hiding in the Spiritual Realm, but I don’t know whether Demon God Li Hen has returned to the Mental Demon Realm! I need your help now!”
He looked at Fang Yuan and sounded sincere.
“You… want me to help you save your original body?”
Fang Yuan had a rough idea about his request.
“That’s right. Most of my friends’ bodies and mine are endangered… While I’m still fine, they can’t hold on for long…” said the Lord of the Void frankly.
He did not have any concept of an original body, so he would not mind losing it. At worst, he would lose some power, which could be recovered soon.
But other Demon Gods like the Infinite Devourer might be annihilated.
“How did the heaven’s will of the Spiritual Realm suddenly become so efficient?”
Fang Yuan was slightly astonished. Those Demon Gods should have been able to hold on for many more years given how slowly the Spiritual Realm ‘consumed’ the invaders previously.
The Lord of the Void went silent for a moment before uttering the most important piece of intelligence, “It’s not the Spiritual Realm, but the Celestial Thearch!”
“You’re saying…”
Fang Yuan’s eyes immediately glistened.