novelhk Chapter 186 Demon King! Devouring the Sea!
Chapter 186 Demon King! Devouring the Sea!
Chapter 186 Demon King! Devouring the Sea!
On a desolate plain a hundred miles outside Jinling City, a large number of people who had fled Jinling City gathered. Most of them were high-ranking officials and their servants, and a few were merchants.
The servants and merchants followed on foot, almost exhausting themselves.
Some people fell behind along the way, but no one waited for them; they were left to die in the wild.
Those who managed to keep up with the carriage didn't actually want to rest; they wanted to continue and enter the city as soon as possible.
Anyone with a little common sense knows how dangerous it is to be outdoors after dark.
But the young masters and ladies in the carriages didn't understand, especially the young Grand Secretary "Yan Shifan," who had never traveled such a long way before. When he came, he had traveled south by luxury boat and was served the best food and entertainment.
Now, however, he had to return by sedan chair, which was not only slow but also very bumpy, making it unbearable for Yan Shifan.
Even though he changed carriages halfway through, he was still so dizzy from the shaking that if they didn't stop, he might be shaken to death.
Yan Shifan didn't care how dangerous the wilderness was at night, because he was surrounded by experts who were well-known in the martial arts world.
After resting for a while, Yan Shifan's stomach growled, so he ordered his servants to start a fire and cook.
"Young Master, just bear with it, we'll be in the city soon. Let's make do with some dry rations for now. Starting a fire and cooking in this situation would not only waste time but could also cause trouble—"
Yan Shifan flew into a rage upon hearing this, roaring, "Dry rations are hard and cold! Is this something a human should eat? I've never eaten such coarse food in my life! Get someone to cook something right now! Didn't you take a cook with you when you left?"
The guard said helplessly, "Young Master, the cook hasn't come along—"
Enraged, Yan Shifan grabbed whatever was around him and started smashing it. He had come to Jinling City full of excitement, but this incident only added fuel to the fire. He was already seething with anger, and now that everything was going wrong, things only got worse.
The guard advised, "Young Master, we'll be entering the city soon. Let's eat something first and get going as soon as possible. The demon race is attacking the city like locusts; staying any longer could be dangerous."
Yan Shifan sneered, "My father spent so much money hiring you, but I didn't expect you to be a bunch of cowards who are afraid of death."
The guards, who were all from humble backgrounds, almost couldn't resist beating him up, but they suppressed their anger when they remembered that his father was Grand Secretary Yan, deciding it was better to avoid trouble.
The young Grand Secretary insisted on having something hot, so the others had no choice but to start a fire and cook. As the firelight shone, a little comfort finally appeared on the faces of the panicked people.
The blazing flames dispelled the chill in their hearts and bodies.
Some people showed fear on their faces, knowing how much trouble lighting a fire in the dark would cause.
"Adults, you can't light fires in the wild! Those animals will come running as soon as they see a fire."
A middle-aged man with graying temples and a weathered appearance walked towards Yan Shifan's location.
The guards stopped him.
He continued to earnestly persuade them, "Demons are not like wild beasts. Wild beasts might be scared away by wildfires, but demons know that the fire was started by humans, and they will definitely come looking for it."
Yan Shifan sneered, "We're already a hundred miles away from Jinling City. How could those demons possibly catch up, unless they can all fly—"
At this point, Yan Shifan suddenly paused.
Yes!
What if there's a flying monster?
Oops!
Realizing what was happening too late, Yan Shifan yelled at the others, "Stop cooking! Get out of here! Don't stop for a second!"
The high-ranking officials and nobles here have long stayed in the capital city, a place of singing and dancing, and know nothing about the demon race, because they have no need to know. Yan Shifan is no exception.
And those so-called expert guards didn't seem to have frequent contact with the demon race.
However, Yan Shifan was, after all, a junior Grand Secretary, and when he helped his father Yan Song handle government affairs, he would come into contact with some information and would know more than others.
Ignoring the inconvenience of the carriage, Yan Shifan scrambled up in a few quick steps, looking quite disheveled and completely unlike his usual elegance. When others saw him so agitated, their hearts skipped a beat.
The wealthy merchants were all shrewd individuals. Although they didn't know what had happened, they immediately urged their men to leave, and some even gave up part of the wealth on the carriages.
The merchants who had walked here all left the fire in terror, numbly following the departing caravan.
"Faster! Faster!"
Yan Shifan stamped his feet anxiously in the carriage, and the guards, sensing his urgency, swung their whips even harder.
The horse, in pain, galloped forward wildly, as if it had gone mad.
Seeing the speed at which the carriage sped away, Yan Shifan, who had been sweating profusely, was finally able to sit down and catch his breath, his body limp like a deflated balloon.
After an unknown amount of time, the area around the convoy suddenly grew darker and darker, and the moonlight disappeared completely!
The guard sitting on the carriage shaft was puzzled, so he looked up at the sky and his pupils suddenly contracted.
A huge black shadow loomed over the sky, completely blocking out the moonlight!
"Young Grand Secretary, look up at the sky!" the guard cried out, trembling.
Yan Shifan trembled, quickly leaned out of the carriage, looked at the sky, and exclaimed, "What a huge bird!"
The guard smiled wryly and said, "That's a Roc! Its wingspan is at least five hundred to a thousand feet. With such a terrifying size, it's probably no ordinary great demon."
Yan Shifan felt his vision blur and his legs went weak, almost causing him to fall off the carriage. He stammered, "If it's not a great demon, then what is it?"
"Demon King!" The guard's face turned ashen. He closed his eyes resignedly and said miserably, "The Golden-Winged Roc King, one of the twelve Demon Kings of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom."
Demon King?
Yan Shifan stared blankly, "Isn't the Demon King a legendary being? How come there really is a Demon King in this world? And I actually ran into one!"
Others who were unaware of the truth might still have the motivation to escape, but Yan Shifan was utterly despondent at this moment, slumped dejectedly in the carriage.
The dark shadow in the sky is slowly approaching.
A moment later.
The entire caravan was swallowed by the shadows. Screams rang out and then vanished in an instant. The carriages and goods disappeared as if these people had never been there.
On the contrary, those who were abandoned by the convoy halfway through the journey managed to escape unscathed.
The survivors stared blankly at the terrifying black shadow gradually receding into the distance, a sense of powerlessness and despair spreading through their hearts.
Can humans really defeat such terrifying demons?
at the same time.
A hundred feet in front of Jinling City, there were already many demonic beasts standing.
Behind the demon beast is the spirit demon, behind the spirit demon is the great demon, and behind the great demon is a throne standing high in the sky!
The orderly arrangement reveals the strict hierarchy of the demon race.
The figure on the throne looked down at the city walls.
"one person?"
Chu Yang also looked up at him.
That's enough.
The Demon King found it strange; even though there was only one person standing on the city wall, he inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine.
I haven't felt that sense of impending doom for many years.
Last time, he wasn't a demon king, but just a powerful demon, when he met a middle-aged man named Zhuge Zhengwo.
Dressed in a blue robe, he looked like a teacher in an academy, a true scholar.
Who knew that the "scholars" would be so ruthless? He had only eaten the people of the city to fill his stomach, and he almost died at their hands.
The Demon King touched his neck and said in a nostalgic tone, "You humans are truly blessed. The world has only been awakened for a few decades, yet you have been able to cultivate to such a level."
"Those demon kings and great demons of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, which one of them didn't live a muddled and ignorant life like an animal for thousands of years before finally attaining enlightenment today? They are worlds apart from you humans."
"Fortunately, the heavens are fair after all. Every time we eat a bite of your human flesh, our demon race's power and cultivation will increase, especially those martial arts masters, Taoist immortals, and Buddhist Arhats."
"In just a few decades, some demons have accumulated tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation by eating their way up."
"Do you think how many people would have died if they had that much power?"
The Demon King didn't say these things for no reason. Without exception, all human cultivators have inner demons. Before a great battle, being able to shake the opponent's mind increases the chances of victory.
The Demon King knew very well what someone like Chu Yang, who was willing to protect the people of a city, valued most.
as predicted.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Yang's expression changed.
His eyes were so cold they seemed to radiate ice.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, the demon king, seated on his throne, clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Attack the city!"
At a command.
All demons emerge!
The demon race's siege tactics have remained unchanged for decades: first, demon beasts charge in, using massive hordes of beasts to deplete their weapons such as arrows and catapults; only when the defending side is exhausted will the great demons and spirit demons take turns climbing the city walls.
Qi Jiguang's demon-slaying crossbows were no joke; many powerful demons had perished under their crossbow bolts. Unless they were exhausted to a certain extent, powerful demons would not easily climb onto the city walls.
Once the wall becomes the main battlefield, it will be the arena for the Divine Marquis's Mansion, Buddhist and Taoist masters, and great demons to fight, and the outcome will be decided there.
Looking at the bare city walls, the Demon King was also wondering whether the other side was playing a trick or was really so arrogant.
In any case, it's always right to let the demonic beasts charge first. After all, in his eyes, his so-called kin were nothing more than expendable resources.
If they could break through the city walls, their deaths would have been worthwhile.
The Demon King stared intently at Chu Yang, wanting to see what tricks he had up his sleeve to dare defend the city alone.
Just as the beast tide was about to crash into the city gate, a sudden torrent surged out from around the city walls.
The moat that appeared out of nowhere caught the monsters off guard and instantly submerged the seemingly endless monster army.
"This water manipulation technique is quite remarkable!"
"Are you a Taoist immortal or a Heavenly Emperor?"
The Demon King, with a solemn expression, slowly rose from his throne.
Chu Yang's lips curled up. "It's a little higher than this. Feel free to guess."
The Demon King frowned.
The demon race starts with the lowest-level demon beast, and the realms are successively Spirit Demon, Great Demon, and Demon King.
Legend has it that in addition to the twelve demon kings, the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons also has three demon emperors and a supreme ruler of the demon race.
However, no one has ever seen the latter.
Human martial artists generally have similar levels of skill. The third-rate, second-rate, and first-rate masters in the martial arts world are collectively referred to as Inner Refinement Realm, or Inner Refinement Masters.
This stage requires strengthening the body, forging the internal organs, and stimulating the bone marrow and blood to renew itself; it takes a total of nine cycles.
The combat power of the Inner Refinement Realm varies greatly. A martial artist who has undergone one bone and blood transformation struggles to kill demonic beasts, while a martial artist who has undergone nine bone and blood transformations kills spirit demons as easily as killing chickens.
After nine blood exchanges, a Qi Sea and Dantian are born, and from then on, true essence flows endlessly, and martial arts cultivation can reach the heavens in one step. This realm is called the Ascension Realm, also known as the Grandmaster.
Then, the blood, flesh, and true essence are condensed into one, and every acupoint is a sea of qi and dantian. Every move is like a celestial being reborn, which is called the Celestial Realm, also known as the Grandmaster.
Grandmaster and Great Grandmaster represent the realm of martial arts, while the corresponding realms in Taoism are True Man and Heavenly Lord, and in Buddhism they are Vajra and Arhat.
Apart from "Divine Marquis" Zhuge Zhengwo, who is a world-renowned Grandmaster of the Celestial Realm, the other five leaders of the two marquises, one gate, two factories, and one guard are all Grandmasters who are infinitely close to this realm.
True masters of Buddhism and Taoism are already rare, and Heavenly Lords are even rarer. Not to mention the demon race, even the human race has hardly seen them.
Each time they attack a human city, the demon race will find out the movements of the Buddhist and Taoist masters before attacking the place where the other side is least likely to send reinforcements.
Before attacking Jinling City, the demon race made thorough preparations, not only trapping Qi Family Army but also finding out the whereabouts of all the Taoist masters.
Several demon kings even led a large number of demon beasts in a feigned attack on a major city in the north, in order to attract the attention of the Taoist masters and completely isolate Jinling City.
I never expected there would be a Taoist master here!
The vast ocean, carrying countless demonic beasts, surged towards the demon army. The demon king, disregarding why Chu Yang was there, hurriedly jumped off his throne, his form suddenly changing to reveal part of his true form.
He leaped from a tall Tibetan man over two meters tall into a ten-meter-tall half-human, half-beast!
With dragon horns on its head, an elephant trunk on its face, and a golden mane like a lion, it was unclear what kind of demon king it was.
"I am the Sea-Swallowing Demon King; a mere little river is nothing to me!"
The Sea Devouring Demon King's eyes were bloodshot, revealing an excited expression. Its trunk stretched and grew larger and larger, and it sucked in the torrent in front of it. The water that Chu Yang had summoned was all sucked into its nose.
The vast ocean has vanished, leaving only a scene of devastation. More than half of the demonic beasts that launched the attack have been killed or wounded, and another attack would likely be futile.
Instead of attracting the Demon-Slaying Crossbow, they attracted a Taoist master, which, in the eyes of the Devouring Sea Demon King, wasn't a bad deal.
Since the opponent was only one person, how easy would it be for him to kill him with his level of skill?
Even a true immortal who is infinitely close to the Heavenly Emperor is just a true immortal in his presence.
"Does this Taoist priest dare to fight me?"
The Sea Devouring Demon King roared to the sky, his voice like a war drum, making people's eardrums ache and their blood flow backward.
Even the people in Jinling City heard this sound.
The people on the other city wall naturally heard it too!
Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, Li Gexiao, Li Xunhuan, and Tie Chuanjia, who was brought by the two.
Duan Tianya has already set off for Wanglong City to investigate the situation of the Qi family army, while Guihai Yidao has gone to the nearest human army to seek help.
Besides these people, there were also a row of demon-slaying crossbows and thousands of government officials lined up on the city wall. There were also some people standing near the city gate, who were civilians who came to help them guard the city.
Yan Nantian and Jiang Feng can also be seen among them.
They all heard the Demon King's voice, but they couldn't pay attention to Chu Yang's situation.
Lu Xiaofeng shuddered as he looked at the huge black shadow in the sky.
They were facing the Golden-Winged Roc King, who had just swallowed Yan Shifan and his party.
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