Free Web NovelChapter 468: Chapter 1: Royal Court Envoy and Turtle Pearl
Carrying a Turtle Pearl for an extended period could subtly purify their Demon Qi. For demons with inferior bloodlines like them, it was an Exotic Treasure of the highest order.
The silver Fish Demon’s form flickered, transforming into a handsome man dressed in silver brocade robes.
The man gripped a long spear, about ten feet in length, and held the Turtle Pearl in his other hand.
"Who are you?"
His eyes fell upon the fish-headed Great Demon.
The fish-headed Great Demon swallowed nervously. ’This isn’t a Great Demon,’ he thought. ’This is clearly a Golden Core Demon King.’
"I am Ben Tapo, a School Guard under the command of the Hundred-Eyed Demon Saint."
The law of the jungle reigned supreme among demons. It wasn’t uncommon for a Golden Core Demon King to encounter a Great Demon and devour it on a whim.
He could only drop the Hundred-Eyed Demon Saint’s name and hope it would make this Golden Core Fish Demon hesitate.
"So you’re one of the Hundred-Eyed Demon Saint’s men. And? The turtle I killed was a freshwater turtle from the mainland, not a sea turtle. Don’t tell me this beast was also one of his subordinates?"
A faint, unreadable smile played on the Fish Demon’s lips as he used his long spear to lift the Turtle Demon’s head for the fish-headed Great Demon to inspect.
This was none other than Yang Jing, who had used the Fetal Transformation Divine Techniques to disguise himself as a Fish Demon.
The last time he had gone to sea, he’d been hunted by a Nascent Soul True Monarch, so Yang Jing was naturally wary of traveling by water.
This time, quite a few people knew he was heading to sea in search of the Nine Marvelous Creation Qi. If he took a Flying Boat to the Central Continent, his movements would be far too easy to predict.
After all, only a few Flying Ship Fleets made the journey to the Central Continent each year.
An idea sparked in Yang Jing’s mind: he would simply transform into a Fish Demon and cross the West Sea.
He now possessed the Epic-Tier Overturning Rivers and Seas and the Five Elements Great Escape Divine Techniques. In the water, he was far superior to ninety-nine percent of the world’s aquatic demons. On top of that, his Fetal Transformation Divine Techniques allowed him to freely change into various demons without revealing the slightest flaw, even in front of a Nascent Soul-level demon.
For Golden Core Cultivators crossing the West Sea, the greatest obstacle was the vast ocean, which was filled with a turbid, baleful qi. Spiritual Qi was scarce, making it difficult to recover Magical Power. Only those who reached the Nascent Soul Realm could fly to the Nine Heavens to absorb the Spiritual Mechanism.
But Yang Jing had an Inner World. Thanks to the Vast Sea Pearl and various Spiritual Eye Objects, its supply of Spiritual Qi was nearly inexhaustible. Recovering his Magical Power was not an issue.
After considering all these factors, Yang Jing decisively chose to cross the West Sea by himself.
Even though the war at sea between the Hundred-Eyed Demon Saint and the Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion had reached a fever pitch, he easily traversed the battlefield, relying on his Water Escape and a perception range that far surpassed that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator.
Along the way, he had even taken down several Golden Core Demon Kings under the Hundred-Eyed Demon Saint’s command and secretly saved a number of Six Sects Cultivators.
He had now penetrated deep behind the front lines, arriving in the heart of the territory ruled by the Hundred-Eyed Demon Saint.
While traveling using his Water Escape, he had suddenly encountered a water turtle, likely from the Western Domain’s Monster King’s Court. He saw at a glance that it was nurturing a Turtle Pearl within its body. His hunter’s instinct piqued, he casually manipulated a Water Technique to kill it and retrieve the pearl.
This type of Turtle Demon understood the danger of possessing a treasure. If one nurtured a Turtle Pearl within its body, it would do everything in its power to hide it, lest someone tear it open to take the pearl.
But how could such a paltry trick deceive Yang Jing’s Third-Layer-Realm Grotto Dark Dharma Eye? He saw through its flesh and blood in a single glance and located the Turtle Pearl.
He had obtained a Turtle Pearl before. After Iron Head refined it in a furnace using his Alchemy Skill, it had become a rare Magical Artifact.
However, after Yang Jing’s Core Formation, a single Turtle Pearl had a negligible effect on him.
But if he could find several dozen Turtle Pearls and fashion them into a Pearl Chain, the effect would be vastly different.
The fish-headed Great Demon saw the look of someone who couldn’t rest in peace on the Turtle Demon’s head. He suddenly recalled that before he’d set out, a few demons from the mainland claiming to be Royal Court Envoys had come seeking the Great Saint to discuss important matters.
His status was too low, however, so he had no way of knowing if this Turtle Demon was part of the delegation.
"It’s no matter! Even if he was one of the Great Saint’s demons, offending you, Your Majesty, was a death sentence!"
The fish-headed Great Demon’s shifty eyes glanced at the big spear in Yang Jing’s hand, and he shivered.
"You’re a sensible one, for a fish head."
Yang Jing nodded, satisfied.
"I was cultivating peacefully in the sea, but after the West Sea Great Saint died, this new Great Saint suddenly started a war with the Human Race on the mainland. I had no choice but to travel far from home. Do you have a nautical chart of these waters? Give me a copy, and I’ll give you this Turtle Demon’s corpse for you to feast on."
He said, gesturing to the Turtle Demon’s corpse.
The fish-headed Great Demon was overjoyed. He was in charge of herding fish to supply the army, so he was naturally familiar with the surrounding region.
He took out a piece of fish skin and, with a surge of Demon Power, drew a nautical chart of the nearby waters onto it.
Yang Jing accepted the nautical chart. While he could navigate by the stars and wasn’t afraid of getting lost, having a chart to guide him was, of course, much better.
At the very least, he could avoid dangerous areas ahead of time.
"Good. The Turtle Demon’s flesh and blood is all yours."
As Yang Jing spoke, his form flickered, and he reverted to the appearance of a Silver Fish. He shot through the water, covering several hundred yards in an instant. Within a few breaths, he had vanished completely into the deep, dark sea.
The fish-headed Great Demon stared at the Turtle Demon’s bisected corpse, ecstatic and drooling with anticipation.
He never expected such a windfall on this official errand. A single glance told him this water turtle had an extraordinary bloodline. Though they weren’t the same species, devouring its flesh and blood would still be a considerable boon to his own power.
He churned the water, driving away the other fish demons and sea bream that had gathered. The fish-headed Great Demon opened its massive maw and began to gnaw on the Turtle Demon, ripping off chunks of flesh and swallowing them whole.
In his feeding frenzy, the fish-headed Great Demon even reverted to his true form—a ferocious, fifty-foot-long sea fish—and began frantically tearing the Turtle Demon apart.
Suddenly, a terrifying killing intent locked onto him. A Restriction instantly seized the surrounding water, pressing in on him with the crushing weight of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The fish-headed Great Demon was so terrified he pissed and crapped himself.
"I serve the Hundred-Eyed Great Saint! Which king is playing a joke on this humble servant?"
A bald, brawny man with a terrifying presence and billowing Demon Qi suddenly appeared before the fish-headed Great Demon. He snatched the Fish Monster by the neck and lifted him straight into the air.
"You’ve got some nerve! To kill my grandson and eat his raw flesh! Even if the Hundred-Eyed Great Saint himself were here, I would still crush your head to avenge my grandson!"
This bald giant was a Demon King of the Golden Core Realm with unparalleled Qi Power. With just a slight exertion of force, he squeezed the Fish Monster to the brink of death. The fish’s face turned purple, then began to turn blue.
If the giant hadn’t wanted to torture him, that single squeeze would have snapped his neck and torn his head clean off.
"Wu Demon King, stay your hand!"
A rather lean Demon King hurried over, chasing after the bald giant and shouting for him to show mercy.
"This Ben Tapo’s Realm is low, his bloodline is mixed, and his power is bottom-tier even among Great Demons. How could he possibly have killed your grandson? There must be more to this story!"
Hearing this, the bald giant loosened his grip slightly.
His grandson’s talent was considered the best in the Wucheng Kingdom. Normally, even if he encountered an enemy he couldn’t defeat, he could still retreat into his shell. This Fish Monster was so pathetic, it was indeed unlikely he was the one who had killed his grandson.
"Speak! If it wasn’t you, who killed my grandson?!" the giant bellowed viciously.
The fish-headed Great Demon’s spine had nearly been shattered. As soon as the giant loosened his grip, he began to gasp for air. He took a long moment to recover before stammering out his words:
"It wasn’t me! I didn’t kill him! It was a Silver Fish that had undergone Demon Transformation! He saw that your grandson possessed a Turtle Pearl, so he attacked without hesitation, dug out the pearl, and fled!"
The giant tossed the fish-headed Great Demon aside.
"What?! Which way did he go?! I’ll tear him to shreds!"
"Your Majesty, the Fish Demon headed east! But... his speed in the water is incredible. Your Majesty may not be able to catch him."
The fish-headed Great Demon gasped, afraid that if the giant failed to catch the Silver Fish Demon, he would return to take out his anger on him.
