Chapter 43: Demonic Cultivator

Ye Lang Dao Ren's face changed. Zi Ya, Zi Feng, Jiu You, Hong Yun, and the others all fixed their gazes on his face.

He remained silent for a long time, then slowly said: "I, Ye Lang Dao Ren, swear to the heavens, I had no idea……." Ye Lang Dao Ren, mid-sentence, suddenly turned into a fleeing shadow and rushed outside; Hong Zhi was about to strike, but he saw Hong Yun's arm suddenly swell by a foot, and a hand chop landed on Ye Lang Dao Ren's nape, causing Ye Lang to instantly collapse limp to the ground.

"Hong Yun Senior Brother, what's going on?" Hong Zhi asked, his face full of confusion.

"Jiu You Dao Friend, why don't you say something?" Hong Yun did not answer Hong Zhi's question; instead, he threw the question to Jiu You.

"Hehe, Hong Yun, do you really want me to say this here?" Jiu You looked around; the noisy chatter of the disciples outside came clearly into his ears,

Hong Yun reached into his bosom and produced a round, grayish little ball; he tossed it, and in an instant, although the postures of several people remained unchanged, they entered a sealed space two zhang square.

"Excellent technique!" Jiu You praised.

"Hong Zhi Junior Brother, although we both know a little about demonic cultivators, only demonic cultivators themselves truly understand them; so let Jiu You Dao Friend explain it to us." Hong Yun said with a smile.

Hong Zhi had been sitting next to Jiu You; despite knowing Hong Yun was present, he still shuffled a few inches outward in fear. Jiu You was an Integration Stage expert; if he were a demonic cultivator, according to legend, demonic cultivators are invincible at the same level, and everyone present would likely suffer.

Jiu You smiled faintly and said: "Hong Yun Dao Friend, don't mock me. Although I am a demonic cultivator, I actually don't know much about them. Later, after receiving guidance from your sect's senior Tai Yu, I switched from cultivating as a Heart Devil to a Power Devil, hoping that one day I could sacrifice myself to the light and become a Light Warrior, avoiding the fate of body and spirit annihilation. So I can only share what little I know with everyone."

Jiu You's voice was hollow and empty, very peculiar, as if true to its name, a voice coming from the Nine Depths.

Within the Primordial Realm, countless worlds exist, and the number of species is in the hundreds of millions; any being with spirituality can cultivate.

The Great Dao numbers three thousand, and cultivation methods are even more countless, but demonic cultivators are relatively special; often, they and Dao cultivators are two sides of the same coin.

Demonic cultivators are the mortal enemies of Dao cultivators, and the original great demon leader came from the Dao cultivator lineage.

Demonic cultivators are not just a single simple kind; they are divided into multiple sects. The three most common are Heart Devils, Evil Devils, and Power Devils.

Heart Devils feed on the seven emotions and six desires of sentient beings; they excel at controlling hearts, silently amplifying desires, and ultimately controlling their opponents.

Evil Devils directly feed on sentient beings, especially humans, to the extreme of evil; as for why this is so, Jiu You does not know either. Moreover, the greatest hostility between demonic cultivators and Dao cultivators mainly stems from Evil Devils, followed by Heart Devils.

Among the three common types of demonic cultivators, Power Devils are somewhat special. These demonic cultivators themselves bear no ill will toward Dao cultivators; their cultivation methods may be no different from those of Dao cultivators, but their core nature is extreme, wholly devoted to pursuing greater power. Unconsciously, even without their awareness, they can slip into the demonic path, and by the time they realize it, they cannot turn back to remedy it. Such demonic cultivators are indistinguishable from ordinary Dao cultivators in daily life, but if a great demon leader invades this realm, even if they are unwilling, they will be easily controlled by the great demon leader and become lackeys of demonic cultivators.

In terms of rank, demonic cultivators are divided into little demon heads, medium demon heads, and great demon heads. However, below the little demon head there is a kind of low-level demon unique to the Demon Realm: the Shadow Devil. They are extremely numerous and completely unconscious demonic bodies; if a conscious entity appears among the Shadow Devils, it will devour those Shadow Devils, complete its evolution, and become a little demon head—but once it becomes a little demon head, devouring Shadow Devils is no longer effective. Further evolution then requires cultivation like that of Dao cultivators.

Besides the low-level Shadow Devils, there is another kind of unconscious low-level demon: beings infected by demonic qi, who lose their self-awareness and become walking corpses, collectively called Corpse Devils. Although Corpse Devils are low-level, they differ from Shadow Devils; although they lack intellect, they retain most of their former strength. Therefore, it is difficult to gauge their strength by rank.

Demonic cultivators advance quickly at first, but the later stages become increasingly difficult to progress, and passing the tribulation is their greatest hurdle. The success rate for Great Vehicle Stage Dao cultivators to pass the tribulation and become Heavenly Immortals is generally between one-fifth and one-tenth, while the success rate for demonic cultivators of the same level is only one-tenth that of Dao cultivators.

"Dao Friend Ye Lang naturally knows that Flying Fox is a Power Devil among demonic cultivators; although he himself is not a demonic cultivator, he is a Soul-Refining Master comparable to an Evil Devil, and he has always been in cooperation with Flying Fox! I previously only suspected Ye Lang Dao Ren, but only today have I confirmed it." Finally, Jiu You sighed and revealed the answer.

Wei Yuning, Hong Zhi, Zi Ya, and Zi Feng all turned pale, while only Hong Yun remained expressionless, indicating he had known beforehand.

"Hong Yun Senior Brother, what should we do with these two?" Hong Zhi asked.

"Of course we kill them! However, before they die, it's best to escort them to the sect for interrogation first!" Hong Yun said.

"I'll accompany Hong Yun Dao Friend; besides, I also want to meet Sect Leader Tai Yu!" Jiu You said.

Upon hearing this, Hong Yun nodded to Jiu You and said: "Thank you, Dao Friend!"

Jiu You and Hong Yun took Ye Lang and Flying Fox with them and left; only Zi Ya and Zi Feng, the two outsiders, remained on the scene.

"Two Dao Friends, we'll go ahead first!" Zi Ya bowed to Hong Zhi and Wei Yuning. In his view, although Wei Yuning was a Foundation Establishment disciple, his astonishing movement technique earned his respect, especially since he had captured the Flying Fox demonic cultivator.

"Until we meet again!" Hong Zhi naturally had no intention of detaining them.

Zi Ya and Zi Feng departed, and Wei Yuning breathed a sigh of relief.