Cultivation through Skin Making - Chapter 770 - 269. Good friend, I must see you! (4.5K words - seeking subscription)_2
Chapter 770: 269. Good friend, I must see you! (4.5K words – seeking subscription)_2
“All are memories.”
Raising his hand, Song Yan inhaled, shattering the ice cavern. One by one, Netherworld Corpse Demons converged towards him, condensing upon his body and compressing into dense flesh and blood.
The Divine Forms Demon Body, when unleashed, stands towering between heaven and earth; when withdrawn, it becomes as compact as a mortal, by no means an inconvenience.
After collecting the Netherworld Corpse Demons, Song Yan noticed for the first time that there was actually another hidden Soul Threshold entrance below. These secret realms stacked like strings of sesame flowers, forming the Tumor Realm landscape unique to the Sea of Suffering Celestial Demon invasion of the world.
Song Yan took out a Qi Box from his bosom, opened it, and then reached out to grab it.
The gigantic Tumor Realm quickly shrank, turning into deformed coral-like strange stones.
He placed this strange stone into the Qi Box for collection.
Finishing all this, he continued to move forward, attempting to gather more intelligence regarding the Five Elements Heaven-Stealing Ship or to find a suitable opportunity for invasion.
He has both patience and time.
…
…
Months later…
Underground.
A cave…
The remaining Array Shield was exhausting the Profound Qi from the Profound Stones here, blocking some rolling stones.
The signs of someone tidying up were evident on the rubble-strewn open ground. In the corners, clusters of campfires burned discreetly, each surrounded by nearly a hundred mortals, totaling over twenty fire pits. There were no elders here, only numb-faced youths and adults, disheveled women, and emaciated children sitting.
Food was scarce, consisting of some kind of elixir left by an Immortal, which when diluted with water could stave off hunger, but was already running low.
As they aged, physical strength inevitably waned, leading to the elderly’s death. Even if they didn’t die, they would choose to leave, giving more rations to the younger generation, going into the outside world to fend for themselves.
The remaining Array Shield of the Cultivator Cave Mansion not only blocked some ordinary dangers from outside but also kept various odors within, causing a faint stench of urine and feces to linger in the air.
Someone was telling a story at the time, recounting how this land once had sunlight.
A child curiously asked what sunlight was.
The storyteller began to describe it, but no matter how they described it, it was far different from true sunlight because they had never seen it either.
In their memory, sunlight was the light gifted by the Divine, a dreamy beam penetrating the clouds and descending from the sky, the most beautiful thing in the world. The land illuminated by this brilliance could grow food.
Another child asked why his planted seeds had yet to sprout.
The storyteller couldn’t answer.
So many children began shouting, “Liar, liar!”
The storyteller chuckled, scratching their head, saying, “It’s also something passed down from the previous generation; I don’t actually know if it’s true or not.”
After a while, someone began singing, and everyone quieted down, softly humming along. But when a loud commotion came from outside, they all stopped singing like frightened mice and looked fearfully at the overhanging soil and stones supported by the Array Shield.
Only when the commotion subsided would they start singing again.
It usually went like this; they were used to it.
However, today was different.
The commotion not only didn’t disappear but brought subsequent tremors. Initially like distant tides, far-off thunder, but soon seized by an invisible giant hand, it began to shake violently.
The campfires flickered like candles in the wind, casting everyone’s shadows on the surrounding walls, resembling crazed seaweed swaying in the deep sea…
The stone pillars inside the broken Cave Mansion also began to sway, as people watched in horror.
Suddenly, all the fires went out.
Even the broken Magical Treasures of the Cultivator turned into cold, rusty iron.
Pitch black!
A man shouted in terror, “It’s coming, the devil is coming!!”
A woman, cradling and sobbing incoherently, joined the cries.
Everyone joined in with shouts.
Various screams intertwined, forming a symphony of despair.
Every five or ten years, such a situation would occur, a sudden darkness descends, the Array Shield unexpectedly opens, and then complete darkness…
When calm is restored, the Array Shield will always be missing two or three people.
The remaining mortals don’t know what it is, only referring to it as the devil.
At this moment, there was no doubt the devil had come again.
The devil had returned!!
The mortals cried out in fear.
For a long time…
And again, a long time…
The trembling sensation disappeared.
The once extinguished Magical Treasures restored a bit of light.
The somewhat brave strongmen grabbed firewood to rekindle the fire from that light.
Slowly, the campfires started burning again.
Everyone either soaked in sweat or collapsed to the ground, and then the strongmen began to call out names, trying to confirm who had disappeared.
He counted once and found that no one was missing.
He counted several times more, letting everyone confirm the people around them, but the result was the same—no one had disappeared.
At this moment…
Outside the cave.
Song Yan was holding a terrifying pitch-black Demon Shadow as if he was grabbing a chick.
This Demon Shadow was the Abbot Bodhi, a type of Celestial Demon, and Song Yan had once been this type of Celestial Demon.
Within its pitch-black body grew twisted Bodhi Trees, and in each hollow resided various Demon Monks.
Although the Abbot Bodhi was merely a small creature at the Divinity Transformation level, it shouldn’t be causing trouble for mortals.
With this curiosity, Song Yan observed and then he discovered the Tightening Ring on the Abbot Bodhi’s head.
This Tightening Ring, he recognized.
Before he left this place, he had long exchanges with the “Celestial Venerable” on the Void Ship, naturally learning about this method of controlling beings.
He just didn’t expect to encounter it himself.
Evidently, someone found this method effective, and so they specially crafted some Tightening Rings to control the Celestial Demons.
