Chapter 352: 234: The Cause_2
In doing so, they would not only slaughter the Demon Head but also complete a meritorious deed, ensuring unobstructed ascension—a truly perfect solution.
Although unexpected complications had arisen, and the merit of slaughtering the demon was claimed by others, the world was now short of everything but demons and meritorious deeds. It wasn’t worth colliding with this mysterious and powerful figure over a single Blood Seed.
Thus, Meng Fuyao was quite willing to give way.
Seeing this, Xu Yang said no more, took the Vajra Bodhi into his bag, and then addressed the five people, “I am Kong Xuan, the Left Envoy of the White Jade Capital. The Three Sects of Snow God have fallen into the Demon Path and should be executed. From this day on, White Dragon Ridge shall be the possession of the White Jade Capital. Great Xing Mountain, Ice Polar Palace, Snow God Peak, and their subordinate nations shall also be brought under the jurisdiction of the White Jade Capital.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
This statement was undeniably domineering, claiming the spoils of war for himself.
But no one could really blame him, after all, the Blood Demon perished by his hand, and the victory was rightfully his.
What concerned the five people more was…
“The White Jade Capital?”
“The Left Envoy?”
“Kong Xuan?”
“This…!”
Li Qiankun furrowed his brows tightly, and the three monks Wu Que were also filled with shock and doubt.
With such divine skills and strength, he was merely the Left Envoy?
The Celestial White Jade Capital, with its Twelve Towers and Five Cities.
Above the Palace Masters of the Five Cities, there were also the Left and Right Envoys?
If there’s a Left, there’s a Right; if there are two, there’s a first.
This layer of identity revealed a lot.
But… was it really true, or was it just mystification?
“This person has the Five Elements body, skilled in Divine Skills and has mastered the Five Elements Divine Thunder; he must be one with the Five Palaces’ masters.”
“Could it be that he alone upholds the facade of the White Jade Capital, and all this talk of the Palace Masters and the Left and Right Envoys is nothing but a bluff?”
“Given his strength, capable of destroying the Blood Demon and battling Divinity Transformation Cultivators, even if he claims White Dragon Ridge and the base of the Three Sects of Snow God for himself, we would say nothing. So why indulge in such mystification?”
“Perhaps… it could be true?”
The four were filled with doubts and uncertainties.
Only Meng Fuyao remained composed: “This time, the extermination of the demon was entirely thanks to a fellow Daoist. The result corresponds with the effort, and it is rightly so.”
“So, it is settled then.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Yang said no more, leaving behind a remark, then soared up with divine light and vanished into the sky.
“…”
“Master?”
“This…!”
Watching his departing figure, Li Qiankun and the others remained silent for a while, then turned their gazes towards Meng Fuyao.
“Let’s each go our own way!”
Meng Fuyao didn’t offer an explanation, simply leaving behind those words before drifting away.
…
Moments later, atop a solitary peak in the Northern Territory’s snowy region, one person sat alone, quietly waiting.
Soon, another figure came floating in, upright and exuding integrity.
It was none other than Supreme Haoqi, the Soul-transforming Corpse Resolution Cultivator—Meng Fuyao!
Meng Fuyao floated in and took his seat before expressing his gratitude, “I owe much to the fellow Daoist’s aid in this demon-slaying endeavor. Without him, the five of us might have faced more danger than fortune.”
“You overstate things,”
Xu Yang, still masked and concealing his identity, shook his head and got straight to the point, “I still have several doubts that I hope the fellow Daoist can clarify for me.”
“Oh?”
Though the surprise was evident in his voice, Meng Fuyao looked at Xu Yang, smiled lightly, and asked, “What doubts does the fellow Daoist have?”
Xu Yang was direct, “The origin of this Blood Demon…”
“Hmm~!”
Meng Fuyao pondered for a moment, as if discerning many implications from the question, but didn’t say much, only stated, “The matter, when spoken of, is also quite desolate.”
“Oh?”
Xu Yang inquired, “How so desolate?”
“Alas!”
Meng Fuyao shook his head and sighed, “It all starts with the Corpse Resolution Immortal Law.”
“During the ancient calamity, the Heavenly Demon descended, countless celestials spilled their blood across the heavens, and only after numerous deaths and injuries was the Heavenly Demon repelled.”
“However, though the Heavenly Demon was defeated, the corruption of the Demon Realm had taken deep root, forming the Death Land Demon Region, defiling the realm of the Yuan Spirit, and giving rise to the Demon Seed Yuan Spirit.”
“With the Yuan Spirit tainted, cultivation became increasingly difficult, and with the remnants of Evil Demons wreaking havoc in the world, once all ancient immortals passed away, this world entered an era of darkness, with chaos reigning and demons rampant.”
“In the dark, predecessors pushed forward amid trials and tribulations, after enduring endless hardships, they finally opened the gate to new methods, created the Corpse Resolution Immortal Law, cut through the Demon Seed fetuses, and put an end to the Dark Chaos.”
“Yet, this method was not perfect. With the Demon Seed deeply entrenched both in the flesh of the Yuan Fetus and the soul of the Primordial Spirit, even the Corpse Resolution could not completely eradicate the menace, leaving a buried danger that could not be fully eliminated.”
“As a result, even though the Corpse Resolution Immortal Law used Demon Transformation Spiritual Roots and Demon Transformation Spiritual Beasts as vessels, akin to seizing a body for reincarnation, it still faced difficulties ascending to higher realms, with Divinity Transformation being the pinnacle and no further progress possible.”
“Unless…”
Meng Fuyao paused, looking toward Xu Yang.
Xu Yang, unfazed, continued, “One could either completely eliminate the demon menace or turn this hidden danger into a source of strength.”
“Exactly!”
Meng Fuyao nodded and said with a wry smile, “This was the hypothesis of the ancients, the only two ways to fundamentally complete the Corpse Resolution. But it was just a speculation. Time was short, and the build-up was insufficient. Plus, the path of Ascension lay ahead, so few were willing to delve into this knowledge in this world and unlock the subsequent paths.”
“However, is Ascension really that easy?”
“In the unknown, there is the will of the heavens, even a drink and a peck are predestined.”
“We cultivators take the essence of heaven and earth, seize the mysteries of the sun and the moon, use the power of all things for our own achievements.”
“All of these are causes, and with the cycle of karma, there must be retribution. Especially now, with the demon catastrophe rampant and the world sinking, we cultivators need to use our merits to repay the karmic retribution of heaven and earth in order to break through the realm and ascend.”
“Otherwise, by the justice of heaven, the cycle of karma will ensue, and divine thunder will descend to exterminate the cultivators without virtue.”
Meng Fuyao sighed, “The end to the Dark Chaos came about for this reason; the Corpse Resolution Cultivators needed to repay their merits, hence they joined forces to seal the demon calamity everywhere, returning the world to a clear and bright state.”
“With the merit of ending the Dark Chaos, that group of Corpse Resolution Cultivators succeeded in their Ascension.”
“But this also left a problem for their successors.”
“After the Dark Chaos, the world became clear. Apart from the three major Death Lands and nine major Demon Realms, there were no more demons to be slain. However, the Demon Realms and Death Lands were perilously dangerous; even the Corpse Resolution cultivators at their peak, the Soul-transforming Cultivators, could enter but not leave.”
“The path to Ascension was momentarily blocked, leaving the subsequent Corpse Resolution stuck in the mortal world. In their despair… they inevitably turned to extremes.”
Xu Yang looked at him, taking over the conversation, “So the Blood Demon came about from this?”
“Exactly!”
Meng Fuyao nodded, “The Blood Demon’s original name was Yuwen Shang, among the first Corpse Resolution Cultivators to emerge after the Dark Chaos, extremely talented and a true genius. He founded the Sect of Snow God Mountain, shaking the entire Northern Region Cultivation World, and was one of the most outstanding Corpse Resolution Cultivators at the time.”
“Yet even he could not break through the Demon Realm Death Lands to reap the merits of slaying demons and repay his karmic retribution; nor did he dare to brave the tribulation and forcefully ascend, so he was trapped in the mortal realm, his lifespan slowly dwindling.”
“Beset by his predicament, he became increasingly extreme, starting to attempt to complete the Corpse Resolution Immortal Law, and at last, with his peerless talent, he created a dangerous Mana Point.”
In the midst of his speech, Meng Fuyao’s expression grew more solemn as he uttered gravely, “The fusion of spirit and flesh, Corpse Resolution Demon Path!”
Xu Yang, upon hearing this, showed no surprise, “To reintegrate the Demon Fetus, or even to devour others, using the principle of the extreme yin becoming yang, extreme yang transforming into yin, to achieve fruition within the Demon Fetus?”
“Exactly!”
Meng Fuyao nodded again and sighed, “Such a concept isn’t wrong in itself, but in practice, it was ultimately flawed; Yuwen Shang took the wrong step, deviating from the path, unable to overcome the Demon Fetus to achieve true fruition, instead falling into the devil’s snare.”
“He didn’t succeed, but neither did he completely fail.”
Xu Yang added the final point, “So, the result is a Blood Demon that still retains some semblance of self?”
“That’s just it!”
Meng Fuyao shook his head and explained, “While not wholly damned, after becoming the Blood Demon, Yuwen Shang was no longer the same person. He first changed his identity, assuming the persona of the Corpse Blood Divine Monarch Zheng Yin, and attacked Corpse Resolution Cultivators and their sects everywhere, devouring Corpse Resolution Nascent Souls and Demon Seeds to enhance his power.”
“However, in the end, he couldn’t break through and instead became even more extreme, ultimately losing control and creating the Blood Moon Demon Realm, swallowing the very Sect of Snow God Mountain he established with his own hands!”
“The founding master fell into the Demon Path, destroying his own sect!”
“How utterly tragic?”
Meng Fuyao let out a deep sigh, “This is the true account behind the extermination of Snow God Mountain. After swallowing Snow God Mountain, he regained some sense and hid for a hundred years. Then, under the pretense of being the remnants of Snow God Mountain, he founded Snow God Peak, Ice Polar Palace, and Three Sects of Great Xing Mountain. Once again, he altered his identity, living in the public eye as Luo Lie, Sikong Ya, Yu Wuxin, evading our pursuit… until today…”