As Zhenniao's feathers tumbled down the Lake of Myriad Toxins, the fallen Beast King's limbs flew towards various corners. His green blood spilled all around the scene but vanished in the lake. Xinzi and co. stayed unfazed. The Yan Spirit clansmen focused on their comprehension of the Servant Sutra. And even the Poisonfeather Bird Generals looked absentmindedly at this result.
"The king...is dead," a rank-four Beast General finally said, as if struggling to take in the full measure of Zhenniao's fall. For thousands of years, Zhenniao ruled this gorge. Not one of the birds on the scene wasn't his junior by at least centuries. To ensure that none would rise to challenge him, Zhenniao restrained their growth, using the males as hunters and the females as cauldrons—while keeping the majority of the spoils for himself. Even the Longfang Viper servants that the Poisonfeather Birds relied on to produce Mummifying Fangs mostly served Zhenniao.
The Poisonfeather Birds couldn't feel any grief for their petty king's demise. But at the same time, they now had to consider how they would survive the gorge's new ruler. Indeed. One evil had replaced another, and so far, they couldn't tell which one served them best.
Meanwhile, Xinzi brought Tusha to the Red-Tongued Devil's corpse. Its face still sported the same grimace of horror that it held before its death. At first, Tusha, Xue Yuanshao and the Armored Lion King all wondered who caused the death of 100 Corpse Demons led by a False Devil.
A random appraisal of Evil Qi showed the Infernal Nun that most of these creatures had a late-stage Demon Creed cultivation, and some even reached the peak. In mortal terms, this meant that even the weakest corpse of this lineup was a match for a peak-stage Supreme Clarity Realm expert. As for the strongest few, only peak Heavenly Immortals could stand in their way!
That so many demons reared their head was alarming enough. But for their combined might to still lead to swift and flawless execution was cause for complete terror.
Only an Immortal Emperor level expert could have accomplished this feat. The Taiyang clan's active elders didn't have a single Immortal Emperor. In fact, even among their retired fossils, only their supreme elder had that cultivation base. Yet in the Endless Sea, these corpses didn't even have the opportunity to cause any damage.
They didn't dare to ask. But now that Xinzi had revealed his status in the Eternal Night Dynasty, Tusha and Xue Yuanshao both suspected that these demons had been routed by another one of his mortal shells—the thought sent a shiver down the Infernal Nun's spine. And as she stared at the Red-Tongued Devil's chest, she couldn't help but wonder if Xinzi didn't have strong ties to the Celestial Paradise.
"Master-Abbot, actually, wasting such resources on me is not wise. The future is hard to predict. With Qiu Meng's death, there might never be another Demon Monarch, but should one appear one day, Miejue, Haoyou, Nieyuan and I will all die to become the keys of their coronation.
It doesn't matter where we stand. As long as the candidate is willing to embrace Hell's Will, we cannot escape our fate. In the past, I didn't mind. But now...a part of me wishes that you were an Ancient Spirit, so at least I could guarantee that I wouldn't die for someone I despise," Tusha said, both stating facts and probing Xinzi's thoughts. Underneath his mask, our monk's lips curled up.
"Don't worry. Ancient Spirit or not, I have no interest in the Demon Monarch crown. And should anyone try to take my significant others from me, death will be the least of their worries." Xinzi's reply came with no hesitations. Others, even divines, might feel thrilled at the opportunity to become the Demon Monarch—theoretically the Infernal Paradise's equivalent of the Heavenly Emperor. But as far as Xinzi was concerned, it made absolutely no sense.
As mighty as they could be, the Demon Monarch was the servant of Hell's Will. Xinzi was Hengye Zhen, the only begotten son of Yongye. If he was willing to be anyone or thing's servant, then he just had to surrender to his mother's will, and at the very least, the entirety of the Celestial Paradise would be his. And if Yongye could bring her plans to fruition, all realms would belong to their mother-son pair.
Could the Demon Monarch's crown compare to this? Of course not. So, unless he could ensure that Hell's Will would never hold any power over him, Xinzi had no interest in the Demon Monarch's crown. But the Ancient Spirit lineage? Now that...was a lot more interesting.
"Am I one...of your significant others?" Tusha blurted the question out, then smacked her lips, wondering why her tongue was getting so loose.
"That depends on you. Reciprocity is the foundation of all healthy relationships. I've already taken you into my heart. But if you won't free up space to put me in, there's nothing I can do. Careful though, once in, I will not share that space." Xinzi's chin leaned over Tusha's shoulder, and his hands held her arms, lifting her hands towards the Red-Tongued Devil's chest.
"And you? How many people can your heart fit?" Tusha's cheeks flushed, and her body loosened up, giving Xinzi free rein.
"Several."
"How shameless." The Infernal Nun rolled her eyes, impressed by Xinzi's audacity.
"It's not, because beautiful, I have several hearts. You only have one. So naturally, you can only make space for me." Even as he justified his polygamous tendencies, Xinzi's mellow voice was like honey to Tusha's ears. Nearby, Xue Yuanshao stroked his beard, and alongside the Armored Lion King, nodded in approval.
Here, our monk activated the Swallowing Skill, aiming it at the Red-Tongued Devil's chest. One pale-blue heart flew out, landing in Tusha's hand.
"Free the Poisonfeather Birds, then refine it in peace. At the very least, your cultivation base should increase by two realms," Xinzi whispered in Tusha's ears, and without turning towards the birds, the nun snapped her fingers, destroying the formation that kept the 1,600 birds captive—they didn't dare to move an inch.
Giving Tusha's back a gentle pat, Xinzi spun towards the birds and Yan. All gentleness vanished from his eyes, replaced by a fiendish intensity.
"Armored Lion King."
"Here!"
"Take this mirror and key to the White Immortal Sect, sneak past their defensive formation and record everything you see in the Liberation Temple, Chun Xu's private mansion, and the Ice-Fire Cave. I refuse to believe that they've left no clue. Stealth is key here. If you dare to cause a commotion, your head is rolling tonight," Xinzi said and stretched his hand out. The Five Elemental Transmutative Technique kicked into gear, relying on the air particles, energies and Xinzi's knowledge of the White Immortal sect's formations to form one seven-colored key.
That key would enable the formation-inept Armored Lion King to sneak in without brute force. At the same time, a Recording Mirror flew out of another spatial rift—coming straight from the main body. Aware that his opportunity to perform meritorious deeds had come, the Armored Lion King grabbed the items, shrank into a palm-sized lion, and raced out of the Gorge.
Our monk's eyes now locked on the birds—the more sentient they were, the more they shivered.
