Chapter 673 - 669: Undying
He has a clear sense of self-awareness.
With just Cultivation at the Transformation Realm, if judged by the standards of Little Outer Heaven, he is merely a Grandmaster, and just entering the Grandmaster stage.
The Great Demon Suppressing Seal has barely reached the beginner level, it hasn’t yet reached the Divine Level.
The most presentable skill is just the Great Brightness Fist.
But the Great Brightness Fist alone cannot give him enough sense of security.
The last attempt to deal with that pale, handsome young man should not be considered the norm.
To be on the safe side, it’s still necessary to find a helper, and Chu Honglin is the best choice.
The Ninth Prince’s avatar is still quite useful, greatly aiding the main body, and cannot be easily abandoned.
"Once found, don’t act rashly."
"Uncle, I feel it’s quite effective."
"Have you discovered something?" Chu Honglin nodded.
He had already noticed Chu Zhiyuan’s sharpness.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have associated the Heavenly Demon Soul Pearl with the Heavenly Demon from Yujing Cave Heaven the moment he saw it.
Chu Zhiyuan nodded: "I remember now, I did encounter one."
Chu Honglin’s eyes immediately emitted a dazzling light, like twin swords piercing out.
His expression instantly tightened, glaring coldly at Chu Zhiyuan: "Where?"
Chu Zhiyuan thought for a moment: "It seems to be at a food stall."
"... Then let’s take a stroll around the city tonight!" Chu Honglin said solemnly.
Chu Zhiyuan said: "Uncle, can’t we use this Heavenly Demon to find more Heavenly Demons?"
"No." Chu Honglin shook his head: "They do not communicate with each other."
"But they have to send messages back, don’t they?"
"This Heavenly Demon Soul Pearl is miraculous," Chu Honglin said solemnly: "Through this pearl, they can communicate telepathically with each other."
Chu Zhiyuan furrowed his brows.
"That’s why they are troublesome, gathering information extremely fast and with high accuracy."
"Don’t we have a similar treasure?"
"We do." Chu Honglin said: "But it only has the ability to transmit messages, called the Spiritual Rhinoceros Pearl, crafted by the Spirit Venerable using secret techniques and transforming Soul Pearls, but due to its rarity, it’s only in the hands of military leaders and Spirit Guard leaders."
"Uncle, do you also have one?"
"I don’t have one."
Chu Zhiyuan was surprised.
"In the Spirit Guard, I’m not an officer, just an ordinary Spirit Guard."
Chu Zhiyuan was even more surprised.
"Within the Spirit Guard, one rises in rank based on merit; my cultivation is not high, my merit is minimal, insufficient for a promotion."
"Spirit Guard..." Chu Zhiyuan was taken aback.
He didn’t expect the Spirit Guard to be so strict; even a dignified prince entering is just an ordinary soldier, unable to become an officer.
"Spirit Guard..."
Chu Honglin’s gaze shifted to the distance, his expression distant.
His eyes held yearning, reminiscing, sorrow, and hatred.
Chu Zhiyuan knew he must have experienced considerable adversity on the Outer Realm Battlefield.
Chu Zhiyuan didn’t want him to continue wallowing in pain, so he changed the subject: "Uncle, this means that there must be those with Soul Pearls among the Heavenly Demons infiltrating our Imperial City?"
"Not all Heavenly Demons can perform Body Seizing; it takes a Great Sky Demon."
"A Great Sky Demon?"
"The cultivation system of the Demon Clan is similar to ours; a Great Sky Demon is akin to our Venerable, the highest rank is the Supreme Heavenly Demon, similar to our Spirit Venerable. The Great Sky Demon’s soul is powerful, able to exist out of body, unharmed by the heavens and earth."
"We don’t have many experts at the Divinity Transformation Realm; do they have many Great Sky Demons?"
"There are quite a few Great Sky Demons, but not many whose lifespan is nearing its end, so there aren’t many seeking to seize bodies."
"What happens after body seizing?" Chu Zhiyuan asked: "Are they still part of the Demon Clan?"
"After a Great Sky Demon performs body seizing, they slowly become demonized, eventually turning into the Ghost Demon Clan. Starting from the Ghost Demon Clan, they cultivate step by step, evolving their bloodline, eventually becoming a Great Sky Demon once more, or even a Supreme Heavenly Demon."
"Bloodline evolution?"
"Among the Nine Grade Demon Clan, any other Eight Grade Demon Clan, as long as they reach the Divinity Transformation Realm, can start evolving their bloodline, ultimately achieving Heavenly Demon status."
"What if they fail to achieve Heavenly Demon status halfway?"
"After death, their soul enters the Demon Spirit Realm, then reincarnates into a Ghost Demon, climbing step by step, and once achieving Great Sky Demon status, they can recover their past life’s memories."
"If they can restore past life memories," Chu Zhiyuan said: "It must create a chaotic mess in terms of relations, right?"
With past life memories restored, still within the Demon Clan, perhaps the current son is their former father or grandfather, maybe even their ancestor.
The ranks would be all confused, with various marital relationships, sibling relationships, etc.
If only a few were involved, it’d be manageable, but if many are like this, one can imagine the chaos.
Couples from a past life could now be siblings or an aunt and nephew, etc., in this life.
Looking at it rationally might be alright if regarded as just memories, but the problem is being excessively attached.
Chu Honglin snorted: "The chaos is jaw-dropping, unimaginable to us!"
He shook his head with disdain: "Utterly chaotic, utterly disgraceful."
Chu Zhiyuan said: "Doesn’t this mean these demon clans are undying and immortal?"
This is somewhat resembling the Yongling Divine Sect.
Chu Honglin’s expression turned grim: "The demon clan’s immortality stems from this, but it’s not truly unkillable; the key is to extinguish their soul."
"Our Great Brightness Fist can do that, right?"
Chu Honglin said proudly: "The Great Brightness Fist at the Entering Spirit Level can annihilate the souls of Heavenly Demons below Great Sky Demon level, ensuring their total demise."
Chu Zhiyuan’s expression was grave: "What about other martial arts?"
"Divine Level martial arts at the Entering Spirit level can annihilate their souls."
"What about the soul of a Great Sky Demon?"
"The soul of a Great Sky Demon requires Void Level martial arts at the Divine Level to annihilate."
"What about after body seizing? After body seizing, their soul should be damaged, easier to annihilate, right?"
"After body seizing, it’s the same."
Chu Zhiyuan’s expression was grave: "Void Level..."
He felt that training the Great Brightness Fist to the Spirit Transformation Level was already his limit.
Now, reaching the Void Level seemed unattainable.
That meant even if encountering a body-seizing Great Sky Demon, it couldn’t be annihilated.
Chu Honglin saw his expression, knew what he was thinking, and said: "After body seizing, a Great Sky Demon’s strength isn’t strong, it’s not a true Great Sky Demon, but the soul is more likely to escape. Just forcing it back to the Demon Spirit Realm is sufficient."
Chu Zhiyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With a grave look, he said: "Uncle, let’s give it a try then."
"Yes, let’s try." Chu Honglin said solemnly.
——
Dusk shrouded the Imperial City.
The city lights began to shine.
The Imperial City became even more bustling and lively.
People returning from work brought their wives and children out of their homes, relaxing themselves by buying snacks and little things.
Children from private schools or martial arts halls ran around playing freely.
It was the happiest time of the day.
Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin didn’t bring any guards, disguising themselves as two ordinary City Guards.
With waist badges, their hands on long swords, wearing City Guard uniforms, they walked along the streets of the Imperial City.
Surrounded by bustling crowds, endless streams of carriages and horses, and a throng of pedestrians.
Mischievous children darted through the crowd, drawing shouts to be careful.
Standing tall, the two naturally exuded the arrogance of the City Guards, making people step aside wherever they went.
The young City Guard impersonated by Chu Zhiyuan nodded: "After turning a corner, it’s a wonton stand."
"... Selling wontons, we’ll pay a visit to the city tonight!" Chu Honglin said gravely.