Chapter 1013

Jia Ye's mouth was still stuffed with the dudou.

The Heaven-Overturning Venerable lay sprawled on the ground, suffering extreme harm from the nine-toothed rake's demon-subduing divine thunder, Lao Geda's deadly venom, and the beatings of a host of demons and monsters.

Especially Zhu Ganglie's shameless single-toothed rake, the demon-subduing divine thunder frenziedly attacked his condensed innate spiritual light, nearly destroying his imprint in this world and causing severe damage to his origin.

Such damage to the origin is extremely hard to heal without a long period of nurturing.

Lao Geda's blob of venom was even more vicious; had he not, after being captured, quickly drawn out the poison from his body, the Heaven-Overturning Venerable would have long since turned into a puddle of poison.

Moreover, Lao Geda's venom can likewise harm innate spiritual light, which for the Heaven-Overturning Venerable is undoubtedly adding insult to injury, worsening his condition.

The Heaven-Overturning Venerable, his whole body twitching slightly, strained to lift his head, squint askance, and stare fixedly at Wu Tie: "You…… each and every one of you…… just wait to die."

The ministers of Wuguo around Wu Tie had all just condensed their Dao imprints these past two days.

Condensing Dao imprints consumes an enormous amount of one's essence, energy, spirit, and soul power.

Therefore, right after condensing Dao imprints, there is a period of weakness; even with Wu Tie's formidable physique, after his first condensation of ten Dao imprints he felt his limbs go limp and his whole body as if emptied.

In this state, unless the Wuguo civil and military officials actively release the pressure of their Dao imprints, at first glance they appear to be a group whose physical bodies and souls are not particularly strong, giving off a sense of emptiness—'the weak'.

Under Wu Tie, the Wu clan elders like Wu Yu who had already condensed Dao imprints, along with several hundred Wu tribesmen, are now either garrisoning Wudu, holding down the southern border teleportation array, or suppressing demon chiefs in the capital of the Supreme Demon Kingdom; not a single Wu stronghold followed him to Black Dragon City.

Thus, the strongest-aura individuals around Wu Tie are actually Zhu Ganglie, the Golden-Eyed Demon Venerable, and that crowd of demons and monsters.

The Heaven-Overturning Venerable swept a disdainful glance over the Wuguo ministers, then his gaze turned icy cold, like a blade, as he scanned one by one the demon venerables, magic venerables, ghost venerables, and strange venerables beside Wu Tie.

"Heh heh, your strength is not weak, but that's all." The Heaven-Overturning Venerable growled low: "Is this what your Supreme Demon Kingdom calls its thirty-six venerables? Do you know how many venerable-rank forefathers my Boundless Sky Demon Alliance has?"

The Supreme Demon gave a "heh heh" cold laugh.

Zhu Ganglie and the others also burst into laughter; especially Zhu Ganglie, the bloody flesh that had burst on his belly had just regenerated, the fresh white skin looking exceptionally clean and delicate.

He lightly patted his belly, laughing especially brightly and happily: "Hey, hey, brothers, this flat-haired brat is threatening us."

Shaking his head, Zhu Ganglie sighed regretfully: "Too bad, it's only a male."

Standing beside Zhu Ganglie, the Netherworld Peng Venerable, his eyes flashing with strange light, stroked his large eagle-hooked nose and likewise sighed with deep regret: "Yes, too bad it's only a male; otherwise, forefather I and it could mate, perhaps producing offspring with astonishing talent."

With a "heh heh" laugh, the Netherworld Peng Venerable wickedly smiled at the Heaven-Overturning Venerable: "But being male has its own advantages. We're both avian, both of the Peng lineage—hee, forefather I have a hundred ways to wring every drop of oil and moisture from your body."

Demons are by nature ferocious and their methods sinister; by devouring their own kind they can plunder the opponent's bloodline inheritance, magical powers, and even their innate spiritual light to strengthen their origin.

The stronger the demon, the more adept it is at this interspecies devouring demonic art.

Zhu Ganglie and company could not frighten the Heaven-Overturning Venerable, but the Netherworld Peng Venerable's words made his body shudder violently.

The Netherworld Peng Venerable gave a "heh heh" laugh, the cloth on his back splitting open to reveal a pair of jet-black wings shrouded in demonic mist; the aura of fellow Peng birds flickered, and he bowed his hands to Wu Tie.

"Your Majesty, once the matter is settled, I dare to beg that you grant this wretch to this humble subject."

Demons are naturally blunt and forthright, so there's no need for pretense; the Netherworld Peng Venerable wanted to devour the Heaven-Overturning Venerable, so he directly made the request to Wu Tie.

"Sure, every hair of his is yours." Wu Tie promised the Netherworld Peng Venerable, then simply sat on the ridge of the city lord's mansion roof, stretched out his legs comfortably, and laughed at the Heaven-Overturning Venerable: "Say something—do you think we care about these empty threats?"

"Your origin, background, why you came here, the general situation of the Boundless Sky Demon Alliance… also, which direction the continent where the Boundless Sky Demon Alliance lies is from here, and how far away. Tell me all that clearly, and I'll give you a quick death, letting you die… with some dignity."

The Heaven-Overturning Venerable's body twitched slightly.

Wu Tie's words were utterly thorough; he could not possibly spare the Heaven-Overturning Venerable's life, after all the Netherworld Peng Venerable had already taken a liking to him.

So-called dying with a bit of dignity ultimately still means dying, doesn't it?

Jia Ye struggled on the side, whining "wu wu" as he tried to speak.

But Li Ergouzi had nearly stuffed the dudou into his throat; no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't spit it out, and thus couldn't utter a single word.

The Heaven-Overturning Venerable's eyes flashed with a dim light; he fell silent for a moment, then slowly said: "You cannot possibly be a match for the Boundless Sky Demon Alliance. If I were to fall here, the Alliance would surely locate this place via its oath-bound demon talisman."

"My Boundless Sky Demon Alliance has 259 demon venerables; we have sworn brotherhood by drinking each other's blood, pledging to advance and retreat together."

"If I were to fall here, there would certainly be demon venerables deeply bonded with me to avenge me… even if others secretly rejoiced at my death, for the sake of Jia Ye this little bald donkey they would surely join forces to come kill."

"Your Supreme Demon Kingdom has only thirty-six venerable-rank beings, and moreover their cultivation is not particularly high."

The Heaven-Overturning Venerable gave a sidelong glance at Zhu Ganglie, Lao Geda, Lao Langtou, Lao Wangzi, and the other demon venerables, then looked at the group of magic and ghost venerables who had just jointly beaten him, and gave a contemptuous snort: "In the Boundless Sky Demon Alliance I rank only just inside the top hundred… yet my cultivation is already considered extremely strong among you lot."

"That wild pig demon who snuck a blow from behind—his cultivation, in my Boundless Sky Demon Alliance, is merely at the bottom rung."

"If the Boundless Sky Demon Alliance goes to war with you, you will surely die."

As the Heaven-Overturning Venerable spoke, his tone again took on an arrogant, threatening edge: "So, hand over that Jia Ye little bald donkey to me, let me take him back, and today's affair will be as if it never happened."

"Otherwise…"

The Heaven-Overturning Venerable still wanted to threaten a bit more, but Wu Tie lightly waved his hand.

Li Ergouzi nimbly darted forward, pulled off his boots, unwound his leg wrappings, and with a "whoosh" stuffed them into the Heaven-Overturning Venerable's mouth.

Fearing the Heaven-Overturning Venerable might spit out the wrappings, Li Ergouzi shoved them in again and again with his middle finger.

A subtle odor permeated the air.

Li Ergouzi gave an embarrassed salute to Wu Tie: "Your Majesty, weren't I just teasing the Eight Great Pacifiers of the Supreme Demon Kingdom a few days ago? Hehe, I've been fighting day and night, haven't had time to bathe or change clothes—this leg wrapping has been fermenting for several months…"

Wu Tie's mouth corner twitched.

The Heaven-Overturning Venerable rolled his eyes straight up.

Jia Ye's body shivered with a sudden chill; he pressed his tongue against the dudou in his mouth and suddenly felt his luck wasn't so bad.

Wu Tie pointed at Jia Ye, and Li Ergouzi pulled the dudou from his mouth.

Jia Ye heaved a few breaths, spat a few mouthfuls of saliva onto the roof, then with difficulty lifted his head to look at Wu Tie: "Your Majesty Wu Tie of Wuguo? I am Jia Ye, the Buddhist prince of the Liuli Buddha Kingdom; I carry with me the Liuli Buddha Kingdom's Buddhist treasury accumulated over a hundred million years, and I am willing to offer all its treasures to Your Majesty."

Before Wu Tie could speak, Jia Ye drew a deep breath.

Li Ergouzi moved to restrain Jia Ye with a heavy hand, but as Jia Ye inhaled, a layer of blue-tinged light flowed over his body's surface, a series of shackles snapped inside with cracking sounds, and a continuous, supple aura began to emanate from within him.

"What a guy!" Li Ergouzi shouted strangely: "You dead baldy, you're quite good at playing dead!"

A jade-green bodhi-leaf pattern flashed across Jia Ye's brow, and a fist-sized cluster of pure light welled up from his brow, drifting gently toward Wu Tie.

Huang Lang, Xiang Feixie, and other Wuguo ministers stepped forward a few paces, lining up in a row to block Wu Tie's path.

The Supreme Demon's reaction was even faster; he instantly shifted to before that cluster of pure light, seized it in one hand, and a domineering demonic thought poured out as he probed into the light's interior.

A chant of sutras rang through the heavens; within the pure light, countless sesame-seed-sized Buddha apparitions surfaced, thick and layered, millions upon millions, assembling in the sky above Black Dragon City into a wondrous Buddhist formation.

The demon supreme let out a shrill, miserable howl; his seven orifices simultaneously spewed black smoke, his body trembling violently as if struck by lightning; the hand that had grasped the clear light shattered with a 'puff', the flesh on his arm instantly vaporized, leaving only a dark-gold hand bone, the bone itself covered densely with glaring cracks.

"This venerable one is also too reckless..." Jia Ye lay on the roof, sighed helplessly: "Our Buddha Kingdom's Buddha Treasury bears the Buddha seal empowered by generations of patriarch monks; since the founding of the Buddha Kingdom, there must be blessings from over ten thousand patriarch monks, right?"

"If this venerable one practiced Buddhist or Daoist arts, it would be fine; unfortunately, this venerable one practices demonic arts..." Jia Ye looked at the Demon Sovereign with a hint of apology: "However, it's merely a loss of a thought, an injury to an arm; with this venerable one's cultivation, resting for a few months will surely heal."

"I... damn it!" the Demon Sovereign looked at Jia Ye, wanting to cry but unable; he gritted his teeth, secretly plotting various vicious thoughts.

Regardless of Jia Ye's background, the Demon Sovereign has now crossed him.

The Demon Sovereign is not only fierce in direct combat; being able to sit on the Demon Emperor's throne, he's also no slouch at scheming behind the scenes. Looking at Jia Ye's delicate, tender flesh, the Demon Sovereign began to consider various ways of steaming and braising him.

Jia Ye chanted a string of incantations, then looked at Wu Tie and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty Wu Tie, as long as you use this incantation, you can open the Buddha Treasury."

Wu Tie lightly waved his hand, letting Huang Lang, Xiang Feixie and the others step aside; he looked at the cluster of clear light and said in a low voice: "Is this your Buddha Kingdom's Buddha Treasury? Why would you offer it to me?"

Jia Ye exhaled, then glanced at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie nodded slightly; only then did Jia Ye's body shudder, and the twenty-odd crisscrossing rune cords on him slipped off lightly.

Jia Ye rose to his feet, pressed his palms together, bowed deeply to Wu Tie in a penitent salute, then dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Wu Tie.

After doing this three times, Jia Ye whispered: "I, a minor monk, am versed in divination; the sole hope of survival for the billions of citizens of the Liuli Buddha Kingdom lies here, lies with Your Majesty Wu Tie. I, using the Liuli Buddha Kingdom's accumulations over a hundred million years, implore Your Majesty to open the gate of compassion, in exchange for the survival of the Liuli Buddha Kingdom's billions of citizens."

With a 'pa' sound, a black fish about seven or eight inches long fell from Jia Ye's sleeve.

The black fish hopped a few times on the roof, spat out a few bubbles, and weakly rolled its eyes at Wu Tie.

Jia Ye hastily explained: "This is a strange dragon-whale I subdued in my youth; its strength is considerable. If it hadn't risked its life this time, I probably wouldn't have made it here, and I wouldn't have seen Your Majesty Wu Tie before this old demon harmed him."

Wu Tie gazed at the clear light hovering before him, remaining silent for a long time.

Seeing Wu Tie silent, Jia Ye knelt again, his forehead striking the roof heavily: "Your Majesty Wu Tie, I am the sole remaining Buddha Prince of the Liuli Buddha Kingdom; the kingdom's inheritance is essentially cut off. I am willing to relinquish everything—the Liuli Buddha Kingdom's boundless territories and its billions of citizens—I wish to offer them all to Your Majesty, that they may become subjects of Wuguo."

I only ask for a thatched hut to dwell in, to continue contemplating the Buddhist scriptures and paying homage to the Buddha; that would be enough for the rest of my life.

Tears streamed down Jia Ye's eyes as he softly said: "Please, Your Majesty, show great compassion, save the billions of citizens of the Buddha Kingdom... please, Your Majesty, show great compassion, please, Your Majesty, compassion..."

Jia Ye muttered over and over while repeatedly kowtowing heavily.

In the lord's manor of Black Dragon City, the roof tiles were all forged from refined iron; Jia Ye's kowtowing shattered the tiles in a few blows, breaking a large hole in the roof.

Wu Tie was about to speak when vast black clouds rolled in from the northern sky, howling gales sweeping through, the wind reeking of a suffocating stench.

A soft, eerie chuckle drifted from afar: "Brother Fan Tian, this time you haven't overturned heaven—you've capsized a boat... heh, looking at your sorry state, elder brother I... am rather pleased."

That's what happens when you try to hog everything... Brother Fan Tian, if it weren't for a few sharp-eyed youngsters spotting you chasing the Buddha Prince Jia Ye all the way south, we really wouldn't have known you'd ended up here...' Then a soft, effeminate voice came from the black clouds: "The Liuli Buddha Kingdom's Buddha Treasury, tsk tsk, we've searched long and hard without finding it— I suppose... it must be right here?"

The black clouds spread across the sky, rushing swiftly toward Black Dragon City.

Within the black clouds stretching hundreds of thousands of miles, countless strange and exotic demons stood thick as thorns; a row of about a hundred chairs was swarmed by innumerable great and minor demons, billowing clouds and mist as they charged straight over.

On those roughly a hundred chairs sat male and female, old and young, tall and short, fat and thin—about a hundred peculiarly formed demon lords, sitting high and mighty.

A gruff voice suddenly boomed from the mouth of a towering yellow-bearded giant tens of zhang tall: "Hey there... who goes ahead? Do you know that Fan Tian is our sworn brother? If you dare capture and humiliate him, you show no respect for the Mi Tian Demon Alliance."

"Children, cut the chatter, charge forward and slaughter the city!" shouted the yellow-bearded man in extraordinary fury; instantly, countless great and minor demons echoed in agreement, emitting a sharp, unpleasant laugh.