Chapter 549: Human Words, Ghost Words, and Demon Words (Third Update!)
The sky was like a burning scroll, with Phụ Nhật La at its center, the flames spreading outward in all directions. Wherever it burned, it turned to ash. Soon, nearly half was consumed, burning to the point above Tần Mục's head, and then the sky of the entire world Tần Mục was in was burned clean away.
The demon race's world vanished, and another world appeared before his eyes.
Tần Mục did not look at Phụ Nhật La walking toward him from the front. Instead, he looked around. Here, towers stood like a forest, pitch-black spires rising within the vast gray mist. Countless demons moved about like industrious worker ants, constructing massive war machines for sieging cities and seizing territory, while other demons were practicing combat drills.
Only when he saw a dim, dying sun hanging in the eastern sky did he finally let out a breath of relief.
He was still in Thái Hoàng Thiên. The demon world that Phụ Nhật La had just shown him was truly terrifying, and he genuinely did not want to stay in that world of destruction.
The sun of Thái Hoàng Thiên was a god-forged sun. Its light was not particularly intense and could not dispel the demonic energy of the demon territory. The few rays of light that fell upon Tần Mục were cold, without a trace of warmth.
The world Phụ Nhật La had just displayed was indeed nothing more than an illusion.
"Senior Phụ Nhật La went through great trouble to bring me here. Surely it's not just to show me the suffering history of your demon race?"
Tần Mục withdrew his gaze and said in a deep voice: "You should know that the suffering of your people has nothing to do with me. But your invasion of Thái Hoàng Thiên, forcing that suffering onto the human race—that is what concerns me."
Phụ Nhật La came to his side and said slowly: "Young friend Tần, are you so certain that you are definitely human?"
Tần Mục's eyes flickered: "Senior Phụ Nhật La, what are you trying to say? Why not speak plainly?"
"You are a demon."
One of Phụ Nhật La's faces was turned directly toward him, and that face spoke: "And a very high-ranking demon at that! Perhaps your bloodline is even higher than mine!"
Tần Mục was stunned for a moment, then pointed at him and burst out laughing, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
Phụ Nhật La remained expressionless, quietly waiting for him to finish laughing. Only when Tần Mục could laugh no more did he slowly say: "Has no one ever told you that you are a demon?"
Tần Mục straightened his back, took a deep breath, and smiled: "Actually, yes. When I was young, I encountered a sealed demon god in the Trấn Trung Palace of the Great Ruins. He told me I was a demon. But he was trying to trick me into falling for his scheme, wanting to seize my body to escape his imprisonment. Unfortunately for him, I saw through it. I even swindled two and a half moves of demon race seal techniques from him. That demon god wanted to deceive me for the sake of my physical body. Senior Phụ Nhật La, what is it that you want to deceive me for?"
Phụ Nhật La stepped forward, his neck rotating, the back of his head shifting to the left side, and said: "I do not wish to deceive you for anything. Although half of every ten sentences we demons speak are false, half are true. That demon god who wanted to seize your body told you that you are a demon. That statement was meant to win your trust, so that statement was true."
Tần Mục suddenly seemed to melt, his body transforming into a shadow of darkness, skimming along the ground.
His speed was extremely fast. In an instant, the shadow had already traveled over a hundred li.
Tần Mục let out a breath of relief and manifested back into his physical form from the shadow state. Then he heard Phụ Nhật La's voice: "You may still not believe it. But have you ever noticed that when you use the demon race's seal techniques, your vital energy flows so smoothly, without the slightest obstruction?"
Tần Mục froze, seeing that he was still neither far nor near from Phụ Nhật La—except now he was on Phụ Nhật La's left side, whereas before he had been behind him.
Phụ Nhật La laughed: "The reason you can so easily learn demon race divine abilities and use them without any obstruction is precisely because you are also a demon!"
Tần Mục leaped into the air, pushing the Thâu Thiên Thần Thối to its absolute limit, tearing through the sky and fleeing.
A moment later, the sprinting Tần Mục saw Phụ Nhật La right in front of him. His expression changed drastically, and he quickly changed direction, racing away.
Another moment later, he saw that he had run right back, sprinting wildly on Phụ Nhật La's right side.
Tần Mục's body halted, and he fell from the air, sinking into the earth. After traveling who knew how far underground, he poked his head out and saw Phụ Nhật La's heels.
He was still among the towers, and Phụ Nhật La was still walking unhurriedly ahead.
"However, you are also human, and you are equally adept at cultivating human divine abilities."
Phụ Nhật La's voice came from ahead: "You are half-human, half-demon, which is why you can so easily master the divine abilities of both races. You have stirred my appreciation for talent, which is why I invited you here."
Tần Mục brushed the dirt off his clothes and sneered: "Tôn Vương, your method of inviting people is quite unique."
He stopped trying to escape altogether and instead stepped forward to match Phụ Nhật La's pace. When Phụ Nhật La heard that he no longer called him "senior" but had changed to "Tôn Vương," one of his faces broke into a smile.
Tần Mục had called him "senior" earlier and now called him "Tôn Vương." It seemed like a casual change of address, but there was great subtlety in it. Calling him "senior" was meant to let the other party know that he was a junior—if a senior were to kill a junior, wouldn't that be a loss of face?
Calling him "Tôn Vương" also carried hidden intentions. Tôn Vương was the title demons used for Phụ Nhật La. By placing himself in the position of a demon, Tần Mục was trying to lower Phụ Nhật La's guard.
Of course, such petty tricks were completely useless against Phụ Nhật La.
"Demons are not like humans. Humans possess vast and fertile lands, blessed by heaven. Demons, on the other hand, come from U Đô."
Phụ Nhật La gestured for him to keep close, saying: "Within U Đô there are far too many wronged souls. Their resentment, their demonic nature, gradually gave birth to the ancestors of the demon race. They were demon gods born from the evil thoughts of heaven and earth. Through their procreation, the demon race as a species was born."
Tần Mục was slightly startled, not understanding why he was telling him these things.
"After the demon race was born, U Đô would not tolerate them, and they were driven out of U Đô by Thổ Bá. Thus, from the very beginning, my demon race were wanderers, forced to search everywhere for a place to dwell. Other races did not accept us either, and the places we could find were always treacherous lands. But even so, we still survived. However..."
Another of his faces turned around, saying: "However, our world still fell into destruction. For the survival of our race, we were forced to invade Thái Hoàng Thiên. In truth, I came to find you because I was searching for a way for both humans and demons to survive together. The moment I saw you, a thought was born in my mind!"
That face was filled with utmost sincerity as he made a tempting proposal: "Help me unify Thái Hoàng Thiên, and I will hand the human race over to your rule! That way, you govern the humans and the humans are preserved, and I govern the demons and the demons are preserved! Is this not a solution that benefits both sides?"
His gaze was bright and intense, fixed upon Tần Mục, awaiting his answer.
Tần Mục pondered for a moment, then probed: "Tôn Vương just said that of every ten sentences a demon speaks, half are true and half are false. So I would like to ask—of all the words Tôn Vương has just spoken, which ones were false?"
Phụ Nhật La twisted his neck, changing to another face. This face was gloomy, and he said flatly: "What do you think?"
Tần Mục smiled: "Tôn Vương's proposal is excellent. Why don't we proceed according to Tôn Vương's proposal?"
That face of Phụ Nhật La was stunned for a moment, and Tần Mục continued: "Let us split Thái Hoàng Thiên in two. I rule the humans, you rule the demons, and we leave each other in peace. Tôn Vương, you may now hand over all the humans within demon territory to me."
Phụ Nhật La's gloomy face stared at him intently. Suddenly, with two cracking sounds, his neck slowly rotated a full circle, and a third face appeared—green-faced, fanged, ferocious and terrifying.
Tần Mục let out a long breath and smiled: "Now I know how much of Tôn Vương's words are true and how much are false. Tôn Vương, your goal is not Thái Hoàng Thiên. Your goal is still the Great Ruins. Thái Hoàng Thiên is merely a stepping stone for you. If I helped you swallow up Thái Hoàng Thiên, then you would perform a blood sacrifice on Thái Hoàng Thiên to enter the Great Ruins!"
Phụ Nhật La snorted coldly, leading him forward until they came to a cliff edge. His face twisted ferociously: "My disciple Phụ Vũ Tiêu died by your hand, did he not? I was willing to set aside that grievance and offer you wealth and glory, yet you treat me like a fool! Do you think your Heavenly Masters can stop me? Do you think those few gods of your human race can stop me?"
Tần Mục stepped forward a few paces and looked down. His expression changed drastically.
Before him lay a chasm of heaven's moat. There, countless demons and humans were busily at work, carving enormous and magnificent great altars.
There were several hundred altars there!
When the Woodcutter Sage had called upon his friends, twenty-four stone statues had descended from the Great Ruins. Those statues had awakened and become gods, and those twenty-four golden great altars had been lined up in a row, a truly spectacular sight.
But now, the scene in this chasm was grander than those twenty-four great altars by an unknowable margin!
Several hundred altars—this was a plan to summon several hundred demon gods to descend!
Tần Mục's eyelids twitched, and his voice was hoarse: "You cannot possibly summon this many demon gods! Even if the True Heavenly Court aided you, they could not give you this much power! And you would not dare accept such a massive army of demon gods!"
Phụ Nhật La shook his head: "I could indeed invite the Heavenly Court's demon gods to descend to the mortal realm, but I truly do not dare to invite them."
Cold sweat broke out on Tần Mục's forehead, and he quickly shook his head: "Your world is connected to Thái Hoàng Thiên, so the ones you want to summon are not the demon gods of your world—they can simply walk in directly. With two hundred thousand years of war between the two worlds, the demon gods of your world must have died in countless numbers. The remaining demon gods are not many, so you wouldn't need this many altars..."
Phụ Nhật La stared at him coldly: "Keep guessing. If you guess correctly, I'll give you a path to survival."
Tần Mục's heart convulsed violently. He clenched his fists and instantly knew what Phụ Nhật La intended to summon.
"The ancestors of the demon race—those demon gods born from U Đô's resentment, evil thoughts, and demonic nature! You intend to summon them!"
Phụ Nhật La burst out laughing, quite pleased with himself: "What do you think of this idea?"
Tần Mục steadied himself and shook his head: "Tôn Vương is truly at the end of his rope, to summon them. If you call them here, given the nature of these demon gods born of demonic nature, I fear it won't simply be a matter of destroying the human race—they will destroy all of Thái Hoàng Thiên!"
"That is precisely why we need the blood sacrifice of Thái Hoàng Thiên."
Phụ Nhật La smiled slightly, and all three faces spoke in unison: "Using Thái Hoàng Thiên as a stepping stone to enter the Great Ruins! However, I have an even better idea. I heard you built a spiritual energy transfer bridge. If you build a few such bridges for my demon race as well, I will spare your life."
Tần Mục probed: "Does Tôn Vương truly dare to let me build bridges for your demon race? Are you not afraid that I might sabotage them?"
Phụ Nhật La's expression shifted slightly, and he said coldly: "Are you determined to refuse me?"
Tần Mục quickly said: "Senior..."
Phụ Nhật La flicked his sleeve and sneered: "Stop your scheming! Calling me senior won't help! I treated you with sincerity, believing you to be a genius of extraordinary talent. Even the Heavenly Masters could not conceive of something like the spiritual energy transfer bridge, yet you could. It is because I cherish your talent that I have allowed you to live until now! Do you truly think I would not kill you? Since when has the demon race ever kept its word?"
His murderous aura erupted violently. Tần Mục's expression changed drastically as he was crushed by the demonic might, struggling to breathe. He quickly retreated a few steps and used the last breath in his chest to shout loudly: "Actually, I come from Vô Ưu Hương!"
Phụ Nhật La was about to deliver the killing blow, but upon hearing this, he immediately stopped and sneered: "You come from Vô Ưu Hương? What proof do you have?"
Tần Mục's face was flushed red, unable to breathe.
Phụ Nhật La withdrew his demonic might, and Tần Mục gasped for air in great gulps. He took out a jade pendant from his chest and said: "I have the token of Vô Ưu Hương as proof! Tôn Vương, surely you recognize the token of Vô Ưu Hương?"
Phụ Nhật La reached out, and the jade pendant detached itself, flying into his hand.
Tần Mục's heart pounded wildly. He quickly suppressed his heartbeat, forcing it back to a steady rhythm: "Diêm Vương said I must never let the pendant leave my body, or something bad would happen. Now I can only rely on this to escape. Hopefully it works... Eh? Why hasn't anything bad happened yet? Could it be that I'm still too close to the pendant?"
————Third update has arrived! Six consecutive days of explosive releases, begging for monthly tickets once more!