Chapter 207: 206: Demonic Aura? Demonic Qi?

It wasn't only Yin Shenli; Wang Wu was also startled the first time he saw this demon.

Because its appearance was so shocking—mainly a demon's face looking like that, a truly unprecedented sight.

Unlike his master, Wang Wu was also very surprised, but his reaction wasn't as extreme as his master's. After staring at the demon's face for a while, Wang Wu asked:

"You... your face..."

"Does it feel strange?" the demon asked with a smile, clearly indifferent to Yin Shenli's shriek.

"Yes," Wang Wu nodded, "I... uh, this is my first time seeing a demon like you."

"It's merely a skin; beauty or ugliness of appearance isn't that important," the demon—who might be on par with Master Yin Shenli—said calmly.

"But I suppose this matters not right now, right?"

"Indeed," Wang Wu said, merely surprised by the demon's odd look, not frightened by its ugliness. He's seen things far uglier and stranger; this is nothing.

Although the demon's appearance ranks among the most striking of the oddities Wang Wu has seen, a close look reveals something beneath the flesh, subtly writhing and churning.

They were tiny human faces, twisted in pain, like...

"Are you about to become demonic, hence this form?" Wang Wu asked curiously; this was the only possibility he could think of for such a powerful demon.

"My time hasn't come yet," the demon shook its head. "My time hasn't come; this isn't my moment."

"It relates to the cultivation method I practice," it continued. "But I don't think such matters need discussion here; now, let's talk about you."

Having said that, it turned its gaze toward Yin Shenli, who was still hidden behind Wang Wu; its eyes became sharp and profound.

In those pitch‑black eyes, Wang Wu saw a black hole.

It was a darkness capable of absorbing and capturing everything, the deepest, heaviest blackness.

No matter how you look at it, it's already demonic.

"Your cultivation method can't be demonic‑related, can it?" Though the demon didn't intend to linger on the question, Wang Wu persisted, continuing to ask.

His question made the other pause, then it cast its gaze back at him:

"Your insight is sharp."

"There's not much to 'insight' about," Wang Wu tilted his head. "I can see at a glance that your aura is saturated with demonic energy; it's obvious you're a demonic cultivator."

"But the price you pay is excessive; demonic cultivation for the demon race is hard, yet it shouldn't require such a cost, right?"

"It's a necessary price," the demon, evidently displeased, frowned slightly and said to Wang Wu, "Since you know demonic cultivation, you should also know the might of the demonic path."

"In the past, only humans could reach that realm; it was beyond our demon race's grasp. Yet after generations of our demon geniuses' breakthroughs, we finally forged a path..."

"Ha, how funny," Yin Shenli scoffed, cutting off the star lord as he was about to continue.

"Practicing demonic arts and turning yourself into this ghastly shape—are the geniuses of your demon race total useless bastards?"

The moment the words left his mouth, a massive aura erupted from him, and simultaneously an even larger aura radiated from Yin Shenli.

The two forces clashed, and the hideously‑faced demon stepped back several paces, signaling Yin Shenli's victory.

"Pathetic," Yin Shenli sneered at the demon before her. "You pay such a huge price yet only reach this level—what a laughable clown."

"Nevertheless, as my opponent your strength is adequate," Yin Shenli continued without giving him a chance to speak. She looked haughty; though he was taller, he could only look up at her.

Because she had already flown up into the sky.

"If you wish to prove something, why not duel me? I can give you a chance to prove yourself," the airborne Yin Shenli declared proudly.

Finishing, she saw the demon about to speak again and cut him off: "Besides, my disciple is also a demon, and he practices demonic cultivation."

She then descended, stood behind Wang Wu, and slapped his back.

Under that slap, Wang Wu felt a massive surge of energy flood his body, and his form began to uncontrollably radiate energy outward.

It was not huge, but an exceedingly pure demonic aura.

Moreover, the slap also triggered a rapid transformation of Wang Wu's physique.

His once‑perfect face suddenly twisted and swelled, then was torn apart by newly grown body structures and tissues.

A newly formed exoskeleton burst through his human flesh; black hair was replaced by a pair of backward‑curved horns, and his eyes were covered with a layer of red, hard crystal.

Its face became hard and austere, also sheathed in armor yet retaining a certain beauty. At the center of its forehead a faceted golden crystal was set, emitting a faint golden glow.

Three pairs of membranous wings unfurled behind him; the curved horns glimmered under the surrounding light.

Unlike the early lower‑third‑rank Tianmo form, this current Tianmo body now bears a hint of divine radiance.

Just as the three human cultivators saw when they were in space before.

Stability, peace, compassion.

But also raging fury, mania, and boundless anger.

Buddhist light filled the sky, demonic flames surged upward.

Majestic vigor and bizarre strangeness—two completely opposing energies—wrapped around Wang Wu's body in an extremely uncanny manner, making him appear both wildly fragmented and oddly harmonious.

"Did you see that, kid?"

Yin Shenli looked at the grotesquely transformed demon ahead, her expression proud as she said:

"The demon race that can master the power of the demonic path—that is the most perfect form."

"Calling you stupid and you still refuse—how pitiful and sad."

"This, this, this..."

Seeing Wang Wu in this state, Qiong Ji could not even utter a full sentence, merely staring blankly and spitting repeated syllables:

"This, how could this... how is it possible..."

"Do you want it?" At that moment, the Tianmo‑incarnate Wang Wu's mind raced, for he sensed the scent of money and profit.

"I possess a demonic cultivation technique suitable for the demon race; of course, it's highly difficult and risky."

"But it doesn't require such a huge price, and its risk is not higher than your current method—no, it should be far lower than the technique you now practice."

"I am also of the demon race; we are kin. I can sell you the technique at a discount," Wang Wu said with a smile.

"Oh right," he added. "As for risk, as long as you use the products supplied by our Supreme Celestial Palace, the risk can be reduced to the lowest, almost negligible."

"This is impossible! This is impossible!!!!"

But faced with Wang Wu's business pitch, Qiong Ji, after stalling for a long while, suddenly blurted out this sound from his mouth.

"This is fundamentally impossible! Impossible!!!"

"How could you be a demon, how could you be a monster! You— you—...!!!"

"Fool." Seeing Qiong Ji, whose Dao heart seemed to be collapsing because of this matter and whose demonic aura was already showing a faint loss of control, Yin Shenli snorted coldly. In the next instant, she appeared before him.

"This is impossible, this is impossible! It must be, it must be..."

While Qiong Ji was still shouting incoherently, Yin Shenli also extended a finger toward him.

At the tip of that finger, a massive light burst forth; although an onlooker could not sense any energy leaking from it, no one would think it was merely a special effect.

At the same time, as the finger of Yin Shenli began to glow, the aura surrounding Qiong Ji's demonic body instantly shifted.

Buzz—

There was no blinding light that enveloped the whole planet, nor any earth‑shaking roar—only a strange buzzing.

Immediately after, a human and a demon vanished from the spot.

"This..."

Watching Yin Shenli and Qiong Ji disappear, about half a minute later, Chi Zhi beside Wang Wu finally stammered:

"This, this is... what just happened?"

"Nothing, they just went to spar," Wang Wu said, "though I don't know how long they'll fight."

Then his gaze turned toward Long Qiang.

At this moment, the latter clearly no longer had the aura he just had; the entire demon was rigid as a statue.

"By the way, shouldn't we continue with the paperwork?" Wang Wu asked, "My master probably won't be back anytime soon, so let's go to the immigration office and handle the entry procedures first."

"Huh? Oh, is that so?" After hearing Wang Wu's words, Long Qing also caught on, then she looked at her still‑dazed Jiu Shu and called him cautiously:

"Jiu Shu?"

Seeing no response, she called again: "Jiu Shu?"

But there was still no reply; Long Qing was about to call out twice more, when Long He couldn't hold back, went over and patted Jiu Shu on the head.

The two sisters—no, the brother‑and‑sister pair—are very close to Jiu Shu; after all, to them he is both father and mother. As for their biological mother?

No, that's not right. Long Qing and Long He also have feelings for this biological mother, and the relationship is good. It's just that mother has her own life and career to attend to, so the time she spends with the siblings is inevitably a bit less.

Just a little less, not much at all.

Jiu Shu, comparatively, has more free time, so he naturally spends more time caring for the siblings.

"Jiu Shu!"

Accompanied by Long He's loud call and the thud on his forehead, Jiu Shu Long Qiang finally came to his senses.

The first thing he did after regaining his senses was to punch Long He on the head.

"Ouch!"

"No disrespect!" Long Qiang glared at Long He, but seeing her immediately clutch her head and squat on the ground, he hurried over, anxiously asking:

"Are you okay? Xiao He, Xiao He!"

"Xiao He is fine, Jiu Shu," Long Qing, clearly accustomed to this daily routine between her sibling—no, her brother—and Jiu Shu, said cheerfully:

"By the way, Jiu Shu, shouldn't we take Wang Wu's younger brother to handle the paperwork?"

"Proceed..." Until then, distracted by Long He's interruption and briefly forgetting the matter, Long Qiang finally remembered.

Then he abruptly turned his head, looking at Wang Wu beside him, his eyes filled with shock:

"You, you—what exactly are you?"

"I am a monster, I am not human," Wang Wu sighed, saying, "Can't you see how I look now? I am a monster."

As he spoke, Wang Wu began to emit an aura that every monster is very familiar with.

Wang Wu truly is a monster; after crossing over and undergoing local adaptation, his claim to be a monster is absolutely unquestionable. Compared to this world's 'human race', his Earthling identity is indeed closer to that of a monster.

After all, everyone evolved from some species; a monster's transformation is equivalent to human evolution. Unlike the humans here... uh, it seems it's not the time to discuss that yet.

However, the demonic qi Wang Wu exudes is not entirely pure.

If it were in the Tianyuan Realm during the Wang Gu Lin era, it would be fine; Shu Niang and the others are wild monsters of the mountains, and even Zhu San Niang, who has seen the world, doesn't actually know much.

But here, ordinary monsters might not discern it; after Wang Wu emits this aura, they would simply think he is one of their own.

However, for monsters whose strength has reached a certain level and whose perception is sharper, that's not the case…

For example, Long Qiang.

This is indeed demonic qi, nothing to discuss, very pure; only a monster could possess such an aura, nothing else.

If that were all.

And the problem lies here: Wang Wu, as an Earthling, a person who crossed over, his demonic qi, though indeed very pure, still contains a trace of Earthly scent.

Of course, this 'Earthly scent' is not the one from his home Earth, but from an Earth in another universe.

A bit craving the strange Earth flavor, that is to say.

(End of chapter)