Chapter 132: Transformation Stage

Chapter 132: Transformation Stage

Boom—

Boom—

The earth shook and the mountains swayed, the cracks in the sky growing larger. Over twenty clans of Core Formation demon cultivators from within the valley rushed out, propping up the formation from the inside. Many of the younger Qi Condensation disciples followed to help repair it. At this point, less than half of those in the cave remained—only races that were not skilled in techniques, and even less skilled in arrays.

The Tiger clan elders silently counted the three of them among those left behind.

Though it made sense...

Shang Yunduo thought to himself, the Tigers sure are protective of their own!

In the blink of an eye, a vast surge of spiritual power pressed in again from within the mist, signaling the arrival of another Transformation stage cultivator. One sharp-eyed Qi Condensation disciple shouted, "It's the King!"

The demon cultivators in the valley, who had been tense and chaotic, suddenly felt emboldened. Several more Qi Condensation disciples rushed out, leaping onto the half-collapsed stone platform to help repair the formation.

But with a flash of King Lingxi's artifact, Shang Yunduo caught a glimpse of a dark golden giant beast half-revealed in the sky. It stomped down hard, causing another violent tremor within the formation. The spiritual energy shield that had just been partially repaired cracked again—more deeply than before.

Cui Peng, who nearly fell over again, sidled up to Shang Yunduo to peek together at the scene. "Is that the Spirit Rhinoceros Clan's Mountain-Flattening Hammer?" he asked, his tone awed.

Shang Yunduo: "Mountain-Flattening Hammer?"

Hua Guan: "Yeah, one hammer flattens a mountain."

Shang Yunduo: "..."

From his perspective, calling it a Mountain-Flattening Hammer was an understatement. It should be called a "Flatten-a-Mountain-Range Hammer."

Relying solely on these Core Formation cultivators probably wouldn't hold it back. The formation wouldn't last much longer. He quickly sent a voice transmission to Pei Jie: "Senior, do you want to come over here?"

Pei Jie: "No, I'll find a chance to enter the inner valley. You stay hidden with those two Tiger cultivators."

"Alright!" Knowing he didn't have the skill to pull off small tricks right under the noses of Transformation stage cultivators—and that sneaking over would only cause trouble for Pei Jie—Shang Yunduo dropped the idea. "Careful yourself!"

Pei Jie grunted and said no more.

Stealing a glance toward the inner valley while pretending to look up at the sky, Shang Yunduo could faintly make out Pei Jie's position. His senior had chosen an excellent hiding spot; if not for their familiarity, a casual scan would never reveal him.

He pulled his gaze back to the sky and studied the formation. It was too large to understand from this single spot, and he couldn't locate the array eye.

No chance to slip away in the chaos...

Cui Peng: "...Three, four, five... six! Damn, there are six Transformation stage cultivators!"

Hua Guan: "Hey, the King!"

Shang Yunduo: "Huh?"

Cui Peng: "Where? Our King is here too?"

The three of them stuck their heads out of the cave entrance to look up.

In the clouds, six powerful surges of spiritual power and demonic qi were visible, and even the dots on their bodies were much denser than those of other demon cultivators.

Tiger King... Ah, there he was!

What a tall figure!

The Tiger King was said to be from the Rock Tiger Clan, but his stature rivaled that of the Giant Tiger Clan.

From his appearance, he seemed a natural and wild type—wearing nothing but a leather armor vest. Covered in tiger fur, with a tiger's head, he showed no signs of humanoid transformation.

But what a handsome and majestic tiger!

Just looking at him stirred excitement. No wonder the usually quiet Cui Peng got so worked up.

Huh?

The Transformation stage cultivator beside him looked different from the others.

Shang Yunduo leaned out a bit more, trying to get a better look.

But before his head was even halfway out, Pei Jie's voice transmission came: "Hide behind those two Tiger companions of yours. Don't come out."

Startled, Shang Yunduo quickly pulled his head back.

Pei Jie continued: "Don't use Illusion Art or Body Tempering anymore."

Shang Yunduo was confused. "Huh? Okay! But why?"

Pei Jie: "Can you make your fake ears appear to have those dots?"

Shang Yunduo paused. "I can! If I stuff some spirit herbs or fruits with dots into the ears, it can temporarily fake it. From a distance, it shouldn't be noticeable."

But why would he need to fake it?

Did someone who could see the dots like him show up?

Shang Yunduo gasped. "Senior, is it that demon cultivator who was chasing you before? Did he come? Is he the one beside the Tiger King?"

Pei Jie was surprised. "Hm? What's different about him?"

Shang Yunduo: "Yes! On others, the dots scatter naturally with no pattern. But on him, they're too orderly—like spiritual power flowing through the meridians, and most are concentrated in his dantian!"

This clearly meant he could use those dots to cultivate!

"Senior, he's definitely more powerful than me. Stay where you are, don't move, suppress your spiritual power, and use the Mirage Lizard Gauze to disguise as rocks and plants. Illusion Art alone can't see through the Mirage Lizard Gauze!"

Hearing the urgency in his voice, Pei Jie smiled. "Don't panic. He thinks I died long ago. His target this time isn't us. Just hide yourself and stick with those two Tiger cultivators. Even if you're found, don't worry—the Tiger clan is protective of their own, and with your low cultivation, even if he notices something unusual about you, as long as he doesn't see you using Illusion Art, a late-stage Transformation cultivator won't intervene over the Tiger King's head."

"Mm..." Shang Yunduo was still uneasy. "What about you? Will he recognize you?"

"I'm only at the Foundation Establishment stage now. He won't think it's me, much less expect to meet me here. Stay calm. If I am discovered, you must pretend not to know me." Pei Jie paused, then continued, "I have my own way to escape. Dragging you along might make us both fail to escape. Understand?"

Shang Yunduo replied gloomily, "Mm."

"Just enjoy the show."

Pei Jie inwardly cursed his bad luck.

Back when he took the Illusion Art, the Flying Owl had chased him for decades. He had come to the demon clan many times since, but never encountered that old monster again. Now, a thousand years later, he runs into him here.

What was he doing here?

He is already at the late Transformation stage, only half a step away from the Deity Transformation stage—why would he still covet a few Spirit Rhinos?

Could his target be King Lingxi?

In the sky, the five Transformation stage cultivators who had chased after him saw that King Lingxi had stopped, so they also halted one by one.

The Tiger King, as massive as Elder Juhu, said, "Brother Lingxi, what exactly are you trying to do putting on this show?"

"What am I trying to do?" King Lingxi stopped the hammer in his hand and looked up with a laugh, "Haha, I just want to settle this once and for all."

Tiger King: "Settle this? Your son and grandson both committed suicide. If you want to avenge them, you can at most blame this bald eagle for negligence..."

King Xuanying, who was called out, glared at the Tiger King, "If he wanted to die, he'd find a way regardless. What does it have to do with me?"

Tiger King: "True! Brother Lingxi, we didn't see how your son died in the Ninefold Palace, but we all saw your grandson. Before that blind man could even catch him, he blew himself up with his demon core, covering that blind man's face with black ash, haha!"

The Black Abyss Clan elder, covered in black ash, shot him a speechless glare. Is that the point?!

"King Lingxi, what do you mean? Just say it outright."

King Lingxi: "Didn't I say it? I just want to settle things."

He glanced at Flying Owl beside the Tiger King, "Since you've invited Flying Owl here, isn't that also to settle things?"

King Xuanying snorted, "If your descendants had behaved themselves as guests in my Ninefold Palace, there would be no need for this settlement. Or are you about to die and want to drag them all down with you?"

King Lingxi laughed loudly, "If I die, do you think they have any chance to live?"

King Xuanying: "If they stayed obediently in my Ninefold Palace, I'd treat them well even if you're gone."

King Lingxi: "So you could bleed them for wine every year?"

King Xuanying: "..."

Tiger King: "Bald Eagle, that's not very honorable of you."

King Xuanying: "I let them eat and drink for free every day, and I can't even take a little blood to make wine? I've given that wine to all of you!"

Tiger King: "...True, I can vouch for him. He doesn't make much wine, and he doesn't take much blood from them."

King Xuanying: "If I took too much, they'd be dead long ago. Lingxi, you've seen your grandson who ran away. Wasn't he plump and well fed?"

King Lingxi: "You kept him for nearly a hundred years, and his cultivation has had no improvement at all. You call that good?"

King Xuanying: "Cultivation depends on talent. Your grandson is just slow-witted."

King Lingxi: "If he's so slow-witted, how did he escape your Ninefold Palace?!"

Tiger King and Elder Heiyuan couldn't help but laugh out loud, and even King Hundun, who had been silent, shook his shoulders.

King Xuanying: "Enough of this pointless talk. Why don't you catch a couple of smart young ones and adopt them as grandsons? I'll take them back and give them proper training. How about that?"

King Lingxi: "No need. Let's speak plainly. I don't have many years left. Today, I will release all the Spirit Rhinoceros from this valley. If all of you here swear a life-and-death oath to never again harm or hunt the Spirit Rhinoceros, and set my clan free, and protect our bloodline, I will willingly submit to whatever you decide to do with me. How about it?"

Flying Owl: "Agreed."

The others remained silent.

King Lingxi smiled and shook his head, "You alone are not enough. Everyone here, including them."

He pointed his hammer at the demon cultivators in the Core Formation and Spirit Awakening stages in the valley below, "All of you must swear that from this day forth, your sacred clans shall never hunt my Spirit Rhinoceros clan."

Still, only Flying Owl answered without hesitation: "Agreed."

King Lingxi looked at each of them in turn, "Tiger King? What do you say?"

The Tiger King sighed and answered honestly, "If it were just me, I wouldn't mind. I don't need your flesh and blood—just let me play with that hammer of yours and I'd agree. But I am the Tiger King, and a king can't only think of his own enjoyment. I have to consider my tiger cubs and descendants."

King Xuanying nodded, "Exactly. That's what a great clan's king should say."

The Mystic Eagle Clan was also a united clan, unlike Flying Owl, who only cared about himself and ignored his people.

Elder Heiyuan also smiled, "My clan king is not here, so I cannot make a decision on his behalf."

King Hundun, appearing lost in thought, shook his head, "...No."

King Lingxi smiled as if he had expected this, "There you have it."

Even if those leaders agreed, how could the other demon cultivators below, who were at the Core Formation stage, dare to make such a decision on behalf of their entire clan?

Tiger King: "Sigh, can't we keep things as they've always been? Ten every ten years..."

King Lingxi laughed abruptly, "Always been? In the entire history of the sacred clans, has any clan been raised like livestock the way my clan has?!"

His voice suddenly boomed, echoing through the entire valley.

Everyone fell silent. Only startled birds flew about in chaos, and the demon cultivators in the valley exchanged confused glances.

The Tiger King sighed, "If that's the case, then let's fight."

A mass of black lightning appeared in his hand, flowing with a cold metallic light.

Shang Yunduo was about to secretly ask Pei Jie what that was, but unexpectedly, the lightning did not strike King Lingxi but suddenly turned and enveloped King Hundun, who had hardly spoken!

What's going on?

Author's note:

Yunduo: "Hey?! Wait, what?"