Chapter 724: Awakened Lion and Demon Country (2)

In the corners around him, objects suffused with Spiritual Qi glimmered. These were all items he had collected over ten thousand years, now strewn about carelessly as decorations.

In a world of pure, flawless Spiritual Space, the Yuanhou Lion Dance, having taken human form, was engrossed in a book. All around his body, various manifested books lay scattered on the ground.

At this moment, the body of the One-armed Nascent Soul Cultivator, which had been relatively solid in this space, had now become somewhat ethereal. But he paid this no mind.

Time trickled by. Here, there was no day or night. The One-armed Nascent Soul felt as if a short while had passed, and yet also a very long time. He could only gauge the passage of time by the degree to which his soul-body was dissipating.

The next moment, the Old Lion’s human-shaped phantom lay lazily on a pile of books. From beneath his messy, golden hair, his deep eyes stared at some distant point, lost in silent contemplation.

“What are you pondering, senior?”

Seeing the Old Lion put down the book and begin to think, a faint sense of joy bloomed in the One-armed Nascent Soul’s heart.

“Humans are truly a species full of contradictions. I find that the more books I read, the more questions I have. So much of what is written in them is contradictory. One book says people should be humble, while another says to fight for everything. One says cultivation requires abstinence, yet another praises the Secret Techniques of Dual Cultivation. There are far too many examples like this.”

The One-armed Nascent Soul was overjoyed to hear this.

“You’re finally seeing the light, senior! The authors of these books have lifespans shorter than one of your naps. What kind of principles worthy of your study could such pathetic, ephemeral beings possibly propose? Most of it is just baseless whining and writing riddled with errors. It’s not worth an ounce of your effort. All this talk of cultivation methods and insights on life… even a single glance is a waste of time.”

The Old Lion nodded in agreement, and for once, he didn’t press for more details.

Seeing he had the Old Lion’s approval, the One-armed Nascent Soul’s spirits soared. He immediately pressed his advantage.

“Just listen to me, senior, and I guarantee I can help you dominate this world! Then, all living things will bow at your feet!”

“What does it mean to dominate? And what comes after that?” the Old Lion said slowly. “I only said most of the books are useless to me. A few of them are actually quite good. For example, the ones that teach you how to face your own heart…”

“Face your own heart?”

The One-armed Nascent Soul mulled over the phrase. He couldn’t believe those words had come from the Old Lion’s mouth. Then a jolt of alarm went through him. ‘Isn’t that the kind of nonsense those Monks are always spouting?’

‘If this Old Lion has been influenced by that kind of thinking, this could be trouble. It would be a major blow to my plans and my master’s philosophy.’

“I wonder, senior, what kind of ‘facing your heart’ are you referring to?”

“To know myself! From the day I was born until now, I have been living in a daze. We creatures are different from you humans. We are born powerful, but most of us can only act on instinct. For countless years, my life has been nothing but eating and sleeping. What happened in the outside world? I wasn’t interested. Through wind and rain, frost and snow, through cycles of slumber and wakefulness, my power grew stronger day by day, as if by natural law, without me having to expend the slightest effort. But in all that time, I never once considered this question.”

The One-armed Nascent Soul felt a sense of relief. ‘Good, it’s not those Monks’ philosophy.’ He then played along, feigning curiosity.

“And what question is that?”

“What is my purpose? What is the meaning of my existence?”

As the conversation reached this point, the One-armed Nascent Soul understood that this was the moment of the Old Lion’s true awakening. And at such a time, he had to be the one to give it that final, crucial push.

“Your meaning is to dominate this world, to wipe out the entire human race, and to lead the Spirit Beasts to reclaim the home that is rightfully theirs.”

The Old Lion shook his head at the One-armed Nascent Soul’s proposal.

“What is the difference between humans and Spirit Beasts? Or do you think the beasts fighting outside right now are my kin? Even of my own kind, the lions, I can’t remember how many I’ve bitten to death. Are they my kin? No, they are not.”

The powerful have always been lonely. Seeing that the Old Lion didn’t recognize these weak beasts as his kin at all, the One-armed Nascent Soul felt a pang of disappointment. ‘How can this Old Lion have no sense of responsibility whatsoever?’

If the beasts outside who were fighting to the death for the Old Lion were to hear this, who knows how disappointed they would be.

Of course, the Old Lion had never cared about such outcomes.

“I don’t know when it started, but I’ve always felt an emotion lurking in my heart. It’s like a piece of bone stuck between my teeth—I can’t pick it out, can’t pull it free. The discomfort becomes even clearer whenever I eat.”

“What emotion is it?” the One-armed Nascent Soul asked.

…….

While the Old Lion continued his self-analysis inside Awakening Lion Valley, a conversation was taking place outside between Yue’e Ancestor and the Jade Rabbit.

“Is there still no word from the Guardian Envoy?”

The Jade Rabbit, in the form of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl with a deep philtrum, fidgeted restlessly before Elder Yue’e.

Yue’e, however, was perfectly composed. She reassured her,

“There’s no need for that. This affair involves Qi Yun, the Great Zhou Academy, and the Beast Taming Sect—it’s a major event that affects the entire world. The Guardian Envoy is simply tied up at the moment. Once he has dealt with it, we can proceed with our plans here.”

“What could possibly be so important that even the Guardian Envoy has no time to spare? Ancestor, have you not received any news either?”

The Jade Rabbit went to Yue’e Ancestor, grabbing her arm and shaking it back and forth. Pestered like this, Yue’e had no choice but to reveal what she knew.

“It seems a Demon Country has been discovered in the Nine Heavens Vault Realm, and it is approaching the ‘Celestial Essence’ Array. I don’t know which fellow Daoist might have triggered it. If it’s left unchecked and the Demon Country is allowed to evolve, it could become a catastrophe that sweeps through the entire Cultivation Realm. Compared to that, our small campaign of conquest will just have to wait.”

“A Demon Country? You mean when a Divinity Transformation Cultivator fails to overcome a Demon Tribulation, their entire being is turned into nourishment for a Demon, forming a Celestial Demon’s delusion that eventually evolves into its own realm?”

The Jade Rabbit was visibly startled. For a Divinity Transformation Cultivator like her, the mere mention of a Demon Country’s formation was terrifying. Aside from the Three Calamities and Three Misfortunes, Divinity Transformation Cultivators faced a great tribulation every three thousand years. Although it was a Celestial Tribulation, it could manifest in various forms, with the Demon Tribulation being one of them.

The formation of a Demon Country requires the entire life’s accumulation of a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, making it equivalent to the emergence of a Divinity Transformation Demon Cultivator even more powerful than the original. A situation like this naturally requires the heads of the Great Zhou Academy’s Regent Academies, the summit master of Qi Yun’s Heaven and Earth Peak, and the Guardian Envoy of the Beast Taming Sect to handle.

Otherwise, if any other Divinity Transformation Cultivator were sent and they couldn’t defeat the Demon Country and instead fell to it, the Demon Country would become even more monstrous and difficult to suppress.

“What awful luck. We were just about to take Awakening Lion Valley, and then something like this had to happen.”

The Jade Rabbit made no effort to hide her petty frustrations in front of Yue’e. In response, Yue’e simply gave her an indulgent smile.

“The Guardian Envoy will be free in half a year at most. A few months sooner or later, that’s all. As long as we don’t make a move, that Old Lion won’t sense any danger. He would never, ever take the initiative to attack. In all these years, not a single Barbaric Divine Transformation Ancient Beast has ever been the first to strike, and this time will be no different.”

Yue’e Ancestor was exceptionally calm. In her long life, she had fought in no fewer than dozens of these wars of conquest. Not once had a Barbaric Divine Transformation Ancient Beast been willing to charge out of its own territory to actively hunt a Divinity Transformation Cultivator like her.

Due to the rules of this world, the intelligence of Divinity Transformation Ancient Beasts is fundamentally undeveloped. They aren’t even as cunning as some Nascent Soul Ancient Beasts.

This is likely because the Divinity Transformation Ancient Beast’s own True Meaning of the Great Dao has assimilated too deeply with this world. Although they gain immense power, this also makes it difficult for their minds to develop. It is a classic case of gaining something only to lose something else.

“I suppose we have no other choice. I hope the Guardian Envoy returns soon.”

The Jade Rabbit now curled up at Yue’e’s knees. Yue’e gently stroked the Jade Rabbit’s silver-white hair and said softly,

“Don’t you worry. That day will come.”