Chapter 177: The Army of Demons
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh
"Rascals!" Wanying Dragon King kept looking at the place where Ying Zheng and his men disappeared grumpily. He stretched his hands out furiously and crushed a few peak-stage Gold Core soldiers of Great Qin into pieces. The army of demon beasts flew up together and launched a massacre, slaughtering every single Great Qin soldier and practitioner. The sky was blotted with Gold Cores that flew in all directions, as they were forcibly dug out from the bodies of those men. All the demon beasts were seen holding some Gold Cores in their hands, laughing and joking with each other. Some even had their eyes narrowed into fine lines because of the joy.
For these demon beasts, Gold Cores of human cultivators were the best tonic, as one single Gold Core was capable of saving several hundreds of years of laborious cultivation. Ying Zheng had brought over thousands of Gold Core soldiers and practitioners here, and it was no different from bringing a heavy gift to all the aquatic demons in the Longyuan River.
Wu Qi's face was beaming with joy as well. When these demons were focused on killing the enemies just now, and the Gold Cores were flying everywhere in the sky, he secretly fished at least one hundred middle-grade and above Gold Cores using a special skill. Together with the few Gold cores he seized from the talisman masters of Heavenly Spirit Sect earlier, he should be able to gain a great benefit for his False Cores, having his cultivation base take a leap again.
What a pity! With a wistful look, he stared at those glinting Gold Cores held in the demons’ hand, Wu Qi shook his head. It would be near impossible to make these demons spit out anything that went into their mouth. Demons were covetous by nature, and their greed was many times greater than Wu Qi's. Shaking his head, Wu Qi cupped his fist and said towards Wanying Dragon King, "Old Dragon King, are you going to spare Ying Zheng and his men just like this? How can an outsider be allowed to sleep beside your bed? If we don't get rid of this Ying Zheng, there will never be peace in your Longyuan River!"
The dragon whiskers near the mouth of Wanying Dragon King shivered. He said with frustration, "Of course I want to kill him! But, these group of juniors can run really fast. Previously, I had shown my true form and injured the little boy Ying Zheng. But in the end, he sacrificed tens of thousands of soldiers by making them drag me down, so that he could run away with his men. And this time, he again made the escape with a strange method. So, how and where should I find them?"
Wu Qi smiled happily. Without hesitation, he quickly said, "Old Dragon King, I know you have no idea where they are hiding now, but I do! For the past few days, I've been visiting their field headquarter many times. If we rush over now, we should be able to catch up with them, preventing them from running away again."
Upon hearing what he said, Wanying Dragon King raised his brows and gave a long, sonorous dragon cry. As the dragon cry rang and echoed out, the Longyuan River that stretched for an unknown distance started boiling. Not just the main branch of Longyuan River, from all the other tens of thousands of river branches, countless big and small demon beasts of either Nascent Soul realm, Gold Core realm, or those equivalent to Xiantian realm of human cultivators, emerged. They rushed and swarmed out one after another through the 'Prime Dragon Water Channel', which formed naturally in the water veins of Longyuan River, gathering towards the catfish-flood-dragon's cave.
Similar to the teleportation formation constructed by human cultivators, the Prime Dragon Water Channel allowed demon beasts to quickly travel between water regions. These water channels did not consume energy stones, but they used the Water element energies accumulated during normal days by themselves. By the time the Water element energies contained in these tens of thousands of water channels in the Longyuan River completely depleted, there were already a few million demon beasts that had arrived at the catfish-flood-dragon's cave.
Among all these aquatic demon beasts, there were three great demons who had also achieved the Nascent Divinity realm: a giant turtle, a giant crab, and a giant starfish. Wu Qi was once again puzzled by it; how could a starfish, a species found only in the deep sea, live in Longyuan River? All three of them had just formed their Nascent Divinity, and their cultivation base had not been completely stabilized and solidified. Thus, they were unable to have their Nascent Divinity leave their bodies, and could not be said to have reached the level of Heaven Immortal, as there was still quite a gap before they could cause the appearance of the Thunder Tribulation. These three could be said to be half Heaven immortals, and were yet to achieve mastery in their Nascent Divinity. However, their magical powers were extremely frightening, as each of these giant demons could easily fight head-to-head with three to five peak-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.
Apart from three great demons of Nascent Divinity realm, there were nearly one thousand aquatic demons whose cultivation base was equivalent to Nascent Soul human cultivators, along with over fifty thousand Gold Core realm aquatic demons. All the remaining demons were having the cultivation base of Xiantian realm. Although their magical power was not as strong, with their enormous size and some incredible innate abilities, they possessed the combative strength many times stronger than human cultivators of the same realm.
Wu Qi was trembling from head to toe. He could never imagine that this incredibly huge Longyuan River actually bred so many aquatic demons. Perhaps it was because the Water element energies stored in those water channels had depleted, when there were actually a greater number of demons who could not make it to the battlefield. God knew what the place would look like if Wanying Dragon King summoned all the demons from the entire Longyuan River.
But with just the demons he called upon now, they were already giving off an air of mightiness that could bring down the skies and shatter the ground. All these demons were aquatic creatures, and when they moved, their surrounding would fill with towering water vapor and dark clouds. With a few millions of these demons gathered above the Lake of Four Waters, the skies within a radius of several thousand miles were covered in dense layers of dark clouds, rocking and rolling ceaselessly, while thunderbolts were streaking and flashing madly. The heavy downpour came whistling down and blanketed all the mountain ranges within a radius of several thousand miles in a white, water veil.
The great trees nearly that were a thousand feet tall were bending and swaying back and forth amidst the violent thunderstorm. The huge hailstones came sweeping across, smashing and breaking their branches. Unknown numbers of unlucky birds and animals were crushed into meat paste amidst the brutal rain. The rainstorm had even caused a mountain flood. Muddy water rolled and poured from valleys in different locations, killing countless living creatures again. The water level in this part of Longyuan River raised by nearly one thousand feet. As a consequence, many hills were submerged under the water, leaving only their peak above the surface.
Wu Qi felt a numbness on his scalp upon looking at the mightiness of these aquatic demons. Luckily, these demons were aquatic species. Thus, they were not interested in roaming on the land. Or else, if one day they were stuck by a bad mood and decided to bring their fierce army and take a stroll in Great Yan Dynasty, that would be a complete disaster.
Amidst the lighting strikes and thunder roars, Wanying Dragon King flew above his army of demons, roaring out loud in extreme fury, "Since the ancient times, we, the clan of Longyuan River, have been guarding our own land and never made enemies. But, in the last few months, there is a greedy junior who tried to capture me alive so he can cultivate his magic. And today, the same group of audacious and reckless fellows even tried to kill the overlord of Lake of Four Waters, the Catfish-flood-dragon! There is a saying among humans that if this can be tolerated, what cannot? So, by all means we have to annihilate that group of human cultivators!"
The giant crab, turtle, and starfish, whose cultivation base were the strongest, transformed into their true form. Each was an enormous demon, several thousand feet in size. They sprayed out demon clouds and water vapor while letting out a loud roar with a brutal aura that filled the air. When the three great demons unleashed their aura, the water level surged for another one thousand feet. Countless demons followed the three and kept roaring furiously, filling the air with a pungent, fishy smell.
Wanying Dragon King did not want to waste more time in talking. After giving a boost to the morale of his soldiers, he rode on a cloud, took the lead and sped into the distance. Wu Qi was riding on a sword beam and guiding the way from the side. The army of several million demon beasts began flying in a swarm towards the direction of Qin Army's field headquarter. When these aquatic demons moved, the huge amount of water in Longyuan River immediately followed their movement. Wherever these demons went, the water would roll and flow behind them. Along the way, mountain forests were flooded by the water, and the ground was now reigned by a vast expanse of water.
Bright beams pierced through the sky at a high-speed. Surrounded by the angry roars and howls of countless demon beasts, Wu Qi and the company had quickly arrived before the Qin Army's field headquarters.
The moon was now hanging above the mountain to the west, and there was a pale bright gleam radiating from the east, illuminating the clouds on the eastern sky with a red hue. Inside the Qin Army's field headquarters within the valley, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were lining up in neat formations amidst the shrill verbal commands. Numerous practitioners were seen hovering in midair, their bodies enshrouded in black clouds and green fog. Their hands were holding some strange long banners, and were nervously deploying various runes and defensive mechanisms, filling the surrounding of the campsite with countless layers of evil and brutal defensive measures.
*RUMBLE!*
Suddenly, there was a deafening thunder roar, followed immediately by countless dark clouds that came from all directions. From four directions several millions of aquatic demons had surrounded the field headquarter. Huge waves rolled, plunging down from the surrounding mountain peaks, quickly stretching longer and forming a one thousand feet tall, white water wall that pushed towards the campsite. Amidst the vast and mighty water, apart from those demon beasts who possessed magical power and could raise the waves, there were also countless ordinary aquatic creatures who were brought here by the river water itself. Many of them were seen baring their fangs and waving their claws. Different species of venomous water snakes, piranhas, all sorts of savage and aggressive creatures filled the water and swam around. Their great numbers had blackened the water, and could make one's flesh creep upon looking.
Surrounded by Wu Qi, catfish-flood-dragon, several dozens of other flood dragons, and the three great demons: the turtle, crab, and starfish, Wanying Dragon King came above Qin Army's field headquarter with malice written all over his face. A fierce golden gleam shone out from his eyes as he looked over at the campsite. Then, Wanying Dragon King yelled out sternly, "Ying Zheng little boy, cut your head off and let me use it as my wine glass, and the rest of you quickly hand over your Nascent Soul, Gold Core, and whatever you have got. I'll take the responsibility to spare a single thread of your true soul, so you can enter reincarnation!"
Wu Qi nearly burst out into laughter. Why did the way Wanying Dragon King talked sound so much like Bai Qitian, Li Si, and their fellow comrades?
Wanying Dragon King continued yelling in an unabashed and arrogant manner, " I understand the heaven, and its care for every living thing. Exterminating every one of you is not a right thing to do. That is why I'll spare a single thread of your true soul and allow you to enter reincarnation, and it is a great deed that accumulates virtue and merit! I'll have to face one more Thunder Tribulation before transcending into the realm of Immortal. So, if I kill too many people, the Thunder Tribulation will be a serious one. Thus, I'll not wipe out your soul completely, but instead, allowing you a chance of reincarnation. What are you waiting for? Quickly kneel and thank me for being kind!"
"Haha! Well said! Old Dragon King, you're the most benevolent existence that I have ever known. Ying Zheng, Li Si, Xu Fu, and all the other men should kneel before you and give you a few more kowtows!" Wu Qi could no longer hold his laughter, and quickly came out with words that not only flattered Wanying Dragon King, but also gave a big slap in the face of Ying Zheng and his men.
As Ying Zheng had exercised a mystic technique previously, bringing his loyal ministers together during the escape, his was now severely weakened. With a pale face, he brought all his important ministers and flew up into the sky, hovering at a distance behind the defensive mechanisms formed using primordial talismans. With a cold gleam in his eyes, he stared at Wu Qi and Wanying Dragon King, sneered and said, "This is absurd! How dare you, a group of mere wild chicken and a stray dog, foul creatures who don't know the difference between life and death, talk to me like that? Today, I'll slaughter every single one of you at all cost!"
Upon looking at the malevolent vision of Ying Zheng, Wu Qi hastily shrunk backward and gave him a smile as he said, "Your Majesty, this is between you and Old Dragon King. I'm just a guide. No matter how you want to fight, don't blame me when that is done!"
Wanying Dragon King was proud and generous, as he patted on Wu Qi's shoulder heavily, gave a loud laugh and said, "Ying Zheng, this young lad, Wu Qi, is just a guide. His cultivation base is too weak to interfere the matter between us! Hehe, this is between you and the old dragon! Hehe, today, there will be only two possible endings: you died and the old dragon lives, or the old dragon lives, and you die too! In any case, you're doomed for sure!"
Wu Qi laughed. He never expected that this old demon dragon was such a funny demon, as the mockery of his had made Ying Zheng ablaze with the flames of anger. He was trembling from top to toes, and nearly coughed out blood.
Ying Zheng threw a fierce glance over at Wu Qi, sneered and said, "His cultivation base is weak? Hehe, fine! Old dragon Wanying, come into my camp if you can… Come and claim my life!" After saying that, Ying Zheng waved his sleeve and brought all his ministers back into the wooden city, standing on top of a wall while casting a cold glance over at the demon beasts that blotted the sky.
Wu Qi turned looking at Wanying Dragon King. The old demon dragon pondered for a brief while, then raised both hands in the air and gave a cry, "My children, attack! Kill them all, eat them all!"
While Wu Qi was at a loss upon hearing the Old Dragon King's command, he immediately saw countless demon beasts swarm towards the great camp of Qin army messily, like how the street gangsters fought. Then, the vast water accumulated on the surrounding mountain peaks came pouring down with a loud boom, bringing together a frightening force that rushed and slammed forcefully onto the talisman defensive mechanisms outside of the campsite.
Suddenly, the talisman defensive mechanisms above the campsite flashed brightly with strange gleams.