Chapter 374: Primitive Demon Energy
They had thought there wouldn’t be many people trapped in the market town, but this time, Su Che and Yan Gu were indeed wrong!
Through that semi-transparent barrier, it was clear that there were an astonishing number of people inside. The situation inside the buildings was unknown for now, but the streets were packed so tightly that it was almost impossible to squeeze through—at least thirty to forty thousand people, at a glance.
The cultivators crammed in the streets, even those at the Foundation Establishment or Qi Refinement stages, could, if they all spat together, drown the hundreds of possessed outsiders. It was easy to imagine that those at higher levels, like the Golden Core stage, must be far stronger and were likely staying inside the buildings.
With such strength, how could they be trapped in the market town by just a few hundred possessed beings?
“A few hundred possessed ones aren’t very strong—mostly at the Foundation Establishment stage, with only a few at the Golden Core stage, and even more at the later Qi Refinement stages…”
Su Che wondered, “What could possibly make those cultivators prefer to stay trapped in the market town rather than kill these possessed ones?”
Guessing alone wouldn’t yield an answer. So, Su Che ordered Lao He to immediately kill the possessed one they had captured earlier and carefully observe what would happen.
Pfft!
Lao He spat, blasting the Foundation Establishment-level possessed one’s brain out, killing it on the spot.
Inside the Prison of Immortals, Lao He’s strength was amplified a hundredfold, while the prisoners’ strength was reduced by the same amount. Killing them was merely a matter of thought.
“Something’s off!”
Soon after, Lao He shouted, “Master, you were right—there indeed is something strange.”
Swish!
Lao He’s massive claw swept through the air, capturing a cluster of transparent gas that was hard to see with the naked eye. “This thing is alive. It seems to be a cultivator’s soul spirit, which can escape after death.”
“Primitive Demon Energy!”
Elder White Demon stared at the transparent gas in Lao He’s hand, his face showing an extremely rare expression of shock.
The old demon usually appeared as a refined scholar, unfazed by anything, so something that could change his expression must be quite extraordinary.
“Is this thing dangerous?” Lao He glanced at Elder White Demon.
“Extremely dangerous!” Old Demon Bai said solemnly. “At the beginning of creation, the first form of demonic energy to emerge was the progenitor of all demons. Yet this mass of demonic energy is far too thin, and its demonic nature is quite impure—quite strange indeed. Be careful! Though it’s not pure primordial demonic energy, once it enters your body, you’ll be utterly consumed by its demonic influence. In terms of madness, it’s even more extreme than our Heavenly Demons.”
“This worthless thing can also turn me into a demon?” Old Black grinned, swiftly sucking that mass of demonic energy into his mouth and swallowing it.
“You…!” Old Demon Bai was shocked. Pointing at Old Black, he shouted, “Are you crazy? Can you really eat that?”
But then he saw Old Black lick his thick lips and nod, saying, “It tastes fine—neither salty nor bland.”
Old Demon Bai was speechless. Looking around, he saw no signs of Old Black being possessed, and then he realized that his colleague was even more mysterious than he had imagined.
Unbeknownst to him, Old Black had seemingly swallowed that mass of demonic energy, but in reality, he had used the power of chaos to devour and assimilate it without leaving a trace.
Old Black truly didn’t believe there could be any energy in this world that could surpass the power of chaos. Whether it was primordial demonic energy or ancient immortal energy, there could only be one ancestor of all energies—chaotic energy.
Of course, Old Black hadn’t swallowed that demonic energy to show off his special abilities; he did it to test just how sinister it really was.
The result of the test was: without the power of chaos to assimilate it, it would likely be a very difficult-to-eradicate, eerie form of energy.
Sure enough, Old Demon Bai said to Old Black, “I don’t understand why you can ignore the erosion and corruption caused by primordial demonic energy. But I know that, in theory, primordial demonic energy cannot be destroyed. It has the strongest corrupting properties. Even if the possessed person is killed, the demonic energy remains and will find another host to continue corrupting other beings.”
“In other words, all these possessed people we’ve encountered are caused by this impure primordial demonic energy?” Old Black asked.
“Exactly!” Old Demon Bai nodded slowly, fanning himself.
Listening to their conversation, Su Che smiled inwardly. “The Immortal Prison is finally getting lively. Originally, only Old Black could communicate with my thoughts. Now there’s another demonic strategist, along with Yan Gu, the loyal enforcer…”
“There will be more, and it will get even livelier,” Su Che thought to himself.
At this moment, as the distance shortened, some possessed beings surrounding the market had already spotted Su Che and Yan Gu flying in from afar. Faced with normal creatures who had come to them willingly, their sole thought was: kill them! Having lost all reason, they paid no attention to the fact that Su Che and Yan Gu were terrifyingly powerful cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage. Dozens of possessed beings with only the Foundation Establishment level howled as they flew toward them.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…
Yan Gu used his pushing force to push them aside at a distance, without going to the extent of killing them outright.
Previously, Su Che and Yan Gu did not know about the elusive and indestructible “Primordial Demon Energy,” which was why they had simply killed the possessed beings they encountered along the way. Now they understood why tens of thousands of cultivators inside the market preferred to be trapped together rather than kill these possessed beings. The reason was that while those beings could be killed, the Primordial Demon Energy could not. Killing these possessed beings would only lead to more people being possessed.
Therefore, they could only stay within the defensive barrier, hoping that the powerful cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage in the cultivation world of Mu Lan Star could find a way to completely eliminate the Primordial Demon Energy. Otherwise, they would continue to be trapped like this.
“Master, along the way just now, we eliminated more than a dozen possessed beings. Why didn’t the Primordial Demon Energy inside them attack us?” Yan Gu still couldn’t figure this out.
“That’s because I possess something that makes them extremely afraid and prevents them from approaching us,” Su Che replied vaguely, without mentioning the Power of Chaos.
“I understand,” Yan Gu nodded immediately, not daring to ask further.
Meanwhile, people inside the market also noticed Su Che and Yan Gu in the sky. But due to the great distance, it was difficult to determine their true cultivation levels. From the fact that Yan Gu could easily push those possessed beings aside with just a simple display of energy, they could roughly conclude that Su Che and Yan Gu must be at a very high cultivation level, likely beyond the late Golden Core stage.
So, someone immediately ran into a large shop to report the situation to its highest authority.
Soon, a group of Golden Core cultivators rushed out of the shop. Two of the strongest, who were at the peak of the Golden Core stage, exclaimed in shock, “Two Yuan Ying masters!”
“What?”
“Are those really two Yuan Ying masters?”
The lower-level cultivators around them were stunned. Some were shocked because they had never seen Yuan Ying stage cultivators up close; but most were overjoyed, as if the arrival of Su Che and Yan Gu had given them endless hope.
“Hurry, hurry, activate the defensive barrier! Quick, invite the two elders in.” It was the voice of a monk with a beard as loud as thunder, whose cultivation level was at the advanced stage of the Golden Core phase; he was also the person in charge of this temporary shelter.