Chapter 573: The Demon Lord's Identity, Illusion and Reality

The Yao Race and Human Race were only briefly shocked. Their resolve to subjugate the Demon Race would not be swayed by Chi Xiao’s death; a great many of the Yao Race had died at his hands, after all.

The fact that he had become a Demon Marshal said it all.

After the great battle, the army began to rest and regroup. Although casualties had been low this time, the expenditure of Spiritual Qi and mental energy was significant.

Just as the army was reorganizing, Chen Dong was teleported by Liu Ling into an utterly pitch-black space.

The moment Chen Dong extended his senses, he was stunned. It was Demonic Qi—and it was so incredibly dense that it felt like a liquid.

The Demonic Qi constantly stoked Chen Dong’s negative emotions—urges for slaughter, destruction, and wantonness, along with a craving for release, much like the effects of the Joyful Fragrance.

“KYE KYE KYE… To think a little bug has found its way here!”

“Who are you?” Chen Dong asked, his voice low. The Demonic Qi was obstructing his Divine Sense, preventing him from clearly surveying his surroundings.

“You’ve come all this way, and you ask who I am? KYE KYE KYE… I am the Demon Lord, Chi Gai!”

Chen Dong’s very soul trembled when he heard that name. ‘The creator of the Spirit Devouring Technique?’

‘Impossible. Absolutely impossible. How could the creator of the Spirit Devouring Technique be in the Floating Shadow Realm?’

“You seem to know quite a bit, little bug!”

Chen Dong frowned, saying nothing. ‘If this really is the creator of the Spirit Devouring Technique, then how high must his Realm be?’ He didn’t dare to even imagine it. ‘And Liu Ling and You actually arranged for me to deal with him?’

Following the voice, Chen Dong walked deeper into the Demonic Qi.

After walking for a full quarter of an hour, he finally saw the true form of the one who had spoken.

A withered soul was refining a giant ball of light.

Chen Dong exclaimed, “A soul form?”

The withered old man cackled. “My true self was hunted by countless masters of the Immortal Realm across the Great Thousand Realms. In the end, I had to divide my soul to escape. I am but one of those fragments.”

Chen Dong’s brow furrowed. “You’re telling me all this? Aren’t you afraid I’ll ruin your plans?”

The withered old man cackled madly. “You’re just a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, a child before me. If you think you can ruin my plans, then by all means, come and try!”

‘I came here to seize the Realm Spirit Heart anyway.’ The ball of light was a microcosm of the Floating Shadow Realm, containing all its living creatures, plants, trees, mountain beasts, birds, and forests. This was clearly the Realm Spirit Heart, identical to the Jiuzhou Spirit Heart he had obtained in a life many, many, many, many, *many* lifetimes ago.

With the Realm Spirit Heart right before him, Chen Dong didn’t hesitate. He formed the seals for a lightning technique and charged forward.

The withered old man cackled again as a Divine Light flashed in his eyes.

The distance between Chen Dong and the old man seemed to stretch into infinity; he could never reach him.

“You little thing, our meeting is fated. If you take me as your master, I will pass on the True Devouring Spirit Technique to you. Conquering a realm will be as easy as turning your hand!”

“I don’t want your damn Spirit Devouring Technique!”

“Don’t want it? That’s because you don’t understand! The Great Thousand Realms are filled with countless prodigies. In that vast sea of talent, your little gift doesn’t even qualify as mediocre. Without the Spirit Devouring Technique, how will you compete? After you cultivate it, you can directly devour the spiritual essence of others to strengthen your own talent. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“What kind of twisted logic is that? Why must I compare myself to others and compete with them? My talent is what it is. As long as I stay true to my own path, I will one day reach my destination!”

“Yours is the twisted logic! To be a Cultivator is to defy the heavens themselves! If you don’t compete against the heavens, against other people, against the countless beings of the myriad realms, then what path are you even cultivating? How will you achieve longevity? How will you attain immortality?”

“And why must I strive for that longevity? What good is a boundless lifespan? It’s an inherently lonely path. Your loved ones will leave you, your friends and family will leave you. What’s the use of being the only one who lives forever?”

“A loved one? If they die, just find another! Friends and family? If your cultivation is profound enough, you’ll never lack for friends! Besides, you can pass the Spirit Devouring Technique on to them. You could all live forever, together. Wouldn’t that be even better?”

“A loved one you can just replace is no longer a loved one. They become an empty substitute. Friends who can’t share your sorrows in times of loneliness, but only cling to you because of your high cultivation—they become false friends. A longevity like that, built on such pursuits, would be entirely false!”

The withered old man fell silent. ‘A cultivated falsehood?’ This fragment of his soul was becoming confused.

“You little brat, you’re full of twisted logic. I’ve wasted enough time debating the Dao with you. Now that you’re here, do you really think you have any say in what happens next?”

As he spoke, his eyes flashed, and Chen Dong was instantly bound by endless Demonic Qi.

“The fact that I can control you—that is reality! You can’t defeat me, which means everything you believe in is a lie!”

The Demonic Qi swirled like a hurricane, trying to pour into Chen Dong’s body and transform him into one of the Demon Race.

But Chen Dong’s training in the Demon Refining Pot had not been for nothing. The demonic restraints held him for barely two breaths before he vanished in a flash, his body transforming into lightning to escape.

“Falsehood cannot bind what is real! Just like you—your very existence is a falsehood, nothing more than a wisp of a soul fragment. You tried so hard to convert me… could it be because your ‘real’ power isn’t enough to kill me?”

The withered old man was stunned for a moment, then cackled once more. “Interesting, truly interesting. Just how much can you see, little brat? Don’t tell me you can see the Realm Spirit Heart as well!”

A faint smile touched Chen Dong’s lips. “Of course I can. Why else would I be here?”